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Responsible Employees

Responsible Employee Guidelines

Federal law requires that Williams College address sexual violence about which “responsible employees” knew or should have known. The term “responsible employee” means a College employee who has the duty to report, or has the authority to address, sexual misconduct by a member of the College community, or who a student reasonably could believe has such duty or authority.

Responsible Employees are:

  • Administrators
  • Staff
  • Faculty
  • Athletic Coaches
  • Campus Safety

These individuals must promptly share a disclosure of sexual assault, sexual or gender-based harassment, dating or domestic violence, or stalking, including all the details known, with the Title IX coordinator. This information will only be communicated with other individuals on a need-to-know basis or as required by law.

What do I have to do as a Responsible Employee?

Address any imminent medical needs or threats to health and safety.

  • If the Reporting Party requires medical attention, or there is an immediate threat of danger or injury, contact Campus Safety & Security 413-597-4444 or 911.
  • Inform the Reporting Party of the limits to confidentiality before he/she/they share information that he/she/they may want to keep confidential:
  • Inform the Reporting Party of your obligation to report the incident to the Title IX Coordinator.
  • Inform the Reporting Party that the Title IX Coordinator will contact he/she/they about the report.
  • Inform the Reporting Party about confidential resources on campus.

Title IX requires the Responsible Employee to share all relevant information about the alleged sexual misconduct, including the identity of the involved individual (s), with the Title IX Coordinator. This includes:

  • The Reporting Party who experienced the alleged sexual misconduct
  • The name of the alleged perpetrator, if known
  • The identity of other persons involved in the alleged sexual misconduct
  • The relevant facts, including the date, time, and location of the alleged misconduct

Responses to Avoid

 Do NOT promise confidentiality. As a responsible employee, you cannot keep confidentiality and you must report incidents of suspected sexual misconduct to the Title IX Coordinator.

Do NOT promise an outcome. Do NOT provide counseling or guidance beyond your training or expertise. Instead, refer the person to a trained resource (Title IX Coordinator, Director of Sexual Assault Prevention and Response, Integrative Wellbeing Services, Ombudsperson, and Employee Assistance.)

Do NOT discourage the person from further reporting. If you have doubts about the incident, keep them to yourself. Do NOT minimize (or magnify) the incident or the impact on the person.

Do NOT blame the person for the incident. Be aware that blame may be stated or implied through comments, body language, or questions.

Do NOT question the person about the incident. It is not the responsible employee’s role to investigate the incident, and asking too many questions can make a person feel uncomfortable or even attacked. Questions should be limited to 1) the person’s name, the accused perpetrator’s name, date, time, and location of the incident, and 2) assessing for any immediate health and safety needs.

The College’s Title IX Coordinator is Toya Camacho, the Assistant Vice President for Institutional Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, 413-597-3301. The Title IX Coordinator is responsible for overseeing the College’s compliance with Title IX.

The College also has three Deputy Title IX Coordinators, who serve as key resources for faculty, staff, and students who have experienced sexual misconduct or other forms of harassment or discrimination on the basis of sex:

Gretchen Long, Dean of the College, 413-597-4261

Danielle Gonzalez, Director of Human Resources, 413-597-2058

Lara D. Shore-Sheppard, Dean of the Faculty, 413-597-4351