UMD hiring admin to handle reports of 'hate/bias' incidents
The University of Maryland-College Park (UMD) is seeking a “Hate/Bias Response Program Manager” to lead the fight against a flood of purported “hate/bias” incidents on campus.
“The Hate/Bias Response Program Manager will lead and facilitate a team of multi-disciplinary professionals providing support to individuals, groups, and communities affected by hate and bias,” reads the job description, posted on December 6, 2017.
Minimum qualifications for the role include a Master’s degree, a “strong commitment to” principles such as “diversity, equity, and inclusion,” and experience in such things as “higher ed Hate/Bias prevention” and “diversity training.”
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Although UMD claims that there have been 27 bias incidents over the last semester, it has yet to release any information supporting its public statements and continued efforts to bolster its bias response program.
UMD has been looking to hire someone to manage its hate/bias program since November. Following a series of incidents ranging from offensive language to the murder of college student and Army officer Richard Collins III, the university announced on November 27 that it would hire a “Hate-Bias Response Coordinator” and implement new policies.
The November announcement indicated that the new administrator would meet with “individuals affected by hate bias incidents” and coordinate a “Hate-Bias Response Team” made up of individuals from the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, the Office of Civil Rights and Sexual Misconduct, the Title IX Office, the Health Center, the Counseling Center, the University of Maryland Chaplains, and the University Police.
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The announcement also claimed that UMD would create a webpage featuring a real-time “hate bias incident log,” which has yet to materialize.
The Diamondback, UMD's student newspaper, reports that some students are skeptical about whether the new plan will create more transparency.
Although UMD spokeswoman Katie Lawson told The Diamondback that the university would release hate/bias incident data the week of December 11, 2017, the university told Campus Reform that it has not yet released the data nor created log of incidents.
Campus Reform has requested salary information for the new Program Manager position, and is currently awaiting a response.
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