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Resources

As much as we hope that you will never experience an incident of bias, harassment, or discrimination in the Georgetown community or beyond, it is important to be aware of the many resources and options available to you if such an incident occurs.

These resources range from complaint procedures provided under the applicable staff, faculty, and student conduct codes to consultation with one or more experienced senior staff, advisors, and confidential counselors who are here to support you and to help you think through how you may wish to proceed if you have experienced harassment or discrimination.

Resources for Students

Reports of Bias and Discrimination Complaints

In pertinent part, Georgetown Law’s longstanding equal opportunity and non-discrimination policy provides that Georgetown offers “educational opportunities without regard to, and does not discriminate on the basis of, age, color, disability, family responsibilities, familial status, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, national origin, personal appearance, political affiliation, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, source of income, veteran’s status or any other factor prohibited by law in its educational programs and activities.”

Bias reporting:

In furtherance of that policy, students across all campuses, including the Law Center, may report incidents of bias, harassment or discrimination through the university’s bias reporting system. The purpose of the Bias Reporting System is to document and respond to bias-related incidents experienced by community members, including students, faculty, staff/AAPs, and to provide affected community members with support and resources. Through this system, Georgetown tracks and reviews bias-related incidents, offers resources to impacted community members, identifies opportunities for educational programming, and shares information with reporting individuals regarding options for next steps. Reporting bias may lead to both informal and formal actions in response to concerns identified, including an investigation, following which the University can hold accountable individuals found to have violated a University policy.

Filing a discrimination complaint against a student:

Among the options available through the Bias Reporting System is the opportunity to file a complaint under the Student Disciplinary Code at the Law Center. If you experience an act of harassment, bias or discrimination by another student and are considering filing a complaint, you are encouraged to contact Professor Michael Frisch, whether or not you also choose to report the incident through the Bias Reporting System. Professor Frisch is the Ethics Counsel for the Law Center and is responsible for investigating – and, where appropriate, prosecuting – matters that arise under the Student Disciplinary Code, including incidents of harassment, bias, and discrimination.

Filing a complaint against a member of the staff or faculty:

If you experience an act of harassment, bias, or discrimination by a member of the faculty or staff and are considering filing a complaint, you are welcome to consult directly with the Office of Institutional Diversity, Equity & Affirmative Action (IDEAA) at ideaa@georgetown.edu. IDEAA is the university office charged with investigating discrimination and harassment complaints against faculty and staff pursuant to the applicable staff and faculty conduct codes across all campuses. The office also oversees the Bias Reporting System linked above. You may wish to review the IDEAA Grievance Procedures, which outline in detail the grievance and investigation processes to address incidents of discrimination or harassment by faculty or staff. Students may file a complaint with IDEAA pursuant to those procedures, whether or not they previously have consulted with an IDEAA investigator or made a report through the Bias Reporting System.

Informal Consultation and Remedies

In addition to the resources described above, members of the senior administration and faculty at the Law Center are available if you wish to discuss an incident of harassment, bias, or discrimination. Each of them can advise students about resources and options, as well as make referrals to the complaint processes described above. This group includes:

Mitch Bailin, Associate Vice President and Dean of Students
Robin Lenhardt, Associate Dean for Equity and Inclusion and Professor of Law
Urska Velikonja, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor of Law
Carlos Vázquez, Associate Dean for International and Graduate Programs and Professor of Law,
Anjali Bindra Patel, Chief Diversity Officer
Alicia Plerhoples, Associate Dean for Clinical and Experiential Programs and Professor of Law

As noted above, if you are considering filing an administrative complaint against a member of the University community, you are also welcome and encouraged to consult informally with Professor Michael Frisch (in the case of allegations against students) or the IDEAA office (in the case of allegations against faculty or staff). They will describe the conduct processes they oversee and help you consider whether to proceed with a complaint.

Confidential Support

Many students benefit from confidential counseling following an incident of harassment or bias, in addition to or instead of outreach to the administrative resources listed above. Our confidential counseling resources include:

The Office of Campus Ministry provides contemplative spaces, religious services, and spiritual accompaniment to students, faculty, and staff of all religious and non-religious identities. To make a virtual or in-person appointment, you can reach out directly to any of the Chaplains or staff through their emails on the website, or drop in to the McDonough 113 Suite, Monday – Friday, between 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Counseling and Psychiatric Service (CAPS) is dedicated to helping students develop greater self-understanding, identify and solve problems, and improve academic performance through the alleviation of psychological, emotional, and cognitive barriers. CAPS offers both individual and group therapy services, on the law campus, the main campus, and via a HIPAA compliant telehealth platform. You can request a first appointment on the CAPS website. To learn more about our current group therapy offerings, call the main campus at 202-687-6985.

Resource Library

The following resources were created by the Office and Equity and Inclusion for the Law Center community:

Additional On-Campus Resources

Law School Admissions Council Resources

Also consider the following resources from the Law School Admissions Council: