Directors Message

To The Edinboro Campus Community

Welcome to a place where great things happen.

I'm pleased to be a part of the Edinboro University community.  I look forward to collaborating and working with faculty, staff, students and administrators on equal opportunity and institutional diversity initiatives throughout the year.

Over the past few decades, equal opportunity and affirmative action have changed the face of our institutions, as well as the way many institutions conduct business.  As institutions, we are growing from compliance with relevant laws and regulation to understanding and embracing the critically important role of diversity in our society.  Diversity is part of the fabric of the institution.  The educational value of diversity in educational institutions significantly touches our mission of educating tomorrow's leaders.

As Social Equity Director, I coordinate compliance activities, including investigations into claims of prohibited or unlawful discrimination, but also I serve as the Chief Diversity Officer providing leadership for diversity issues institution-wide and promoting diversity as a key element on the intellectual and interpersonal development of members of the University and extended communities.  Additionally, I assist others, for example, in the creation of a campus environment that promotes diversity and values individual differences and similarities and in the resolution of concerns and complaint pertaining to employees and students in regard to prohibited harassment and discrimination.

As the University Ombudsperson, I provide information, advice, intervention, mediation, and referrals as appropriate to ensure that members of the University community receive fair and equitable treatment.  In this role, I hear concerns and issues primarily from the campus community that address other areas of campus life that extend beyond affirmative action/equal opportunity compliance and diversity matters.

Within the Office of Social Equity web pages, we strive to contribute to the University's mission of creating and sharing knowledge about AA/EO and diversity.  We also invite you to make suggestions and provide feedback on ways to continually enhance the educational value of diversity on our campus.

I hope you will want to learn more about the Office and its areas of responsibility.

Sincerely,

Valerie O. Hayes, J.D., M.S.W.
Director of Social Equity and University Ombudsperson
vhayes@edinboro.edu