Human Rights Office Transitioning to VP People, Equity, Inclusion

With the endorsement of Executive and to maintain our progress and continue the work towards a respectful and equitable workplace, SFU’s Human Rights Office (HRO) and Bullying and Harassment Central Hub have been moved to the VP People, Equity, Inclusion portfolio. The Director of the HRO will assume leadership of the Bullying and Harassment Central Hub and report to the Executive Director, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.

This transition co-locates offices working toward shared goals to improve processes and services, providing a more consistent and streamlined experience for faculty, staff and students at SFU. It also enables better collaboration with the Equity Office on case management and addressing intersectional issues of human rights, equity and a respectful working culture and environment.

The HRO will retain responsibility for providing safe, timely, confidential and impartial advice, support, referrals and information to members of the SFU community on issues related to human rights, including discrimination, harassment based on a protected ground, and GP 18 retaliation. Learn more about the role of the Human Rights Office.

The Director of the HRO, Kristen Woo, now maintains leadership and oversight of the Bullying and Harassment Central Hub. The Central Hub was created in 2021 to be the first point of contact for all SFU students, staff and faculty who may have experienced or witnessed bullying and harassment at SFU.  We recently welcomed Rana Hakami as our new Anti-Bullying Specialist to manage the Hub. Learn more about SFU’s Bullying & Harassment Policy (GP 47) and the help available from the Bullying & Harassment Central Hub.

I wish to thank the cross-functional team from Student Services, Faculty Relations, Human Resources/Labour Relations, the Equity Office, the Human Rights Office and the Bullying and Harassment Central Hub who have worked on this transition. We are committed to continue listening, providing opportunities for feedback and working closely with members of the SFU community to ensure procedures support a healthy, safe and respectful learning, teaching, research and work environment in which discrimination, bullying and harassment are neither acceptable nor tolerated.

Sincerely,

Yabome Gilpin-Jackson, PhD
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Vice-President, People, Equity, Inclusion
Simon Fraser University