Information and Support
Faculty Ombuds Office
Provides consultation & mediation services to UNM faculty & administrators for potential or ongoing workplace conflicts. The Faculty Ombuds offers confidential, informal, independent, and neutral services to any and all parties to a dispute, as well as training and support for UNM faculty who engage in ongoing constructive conflict management.
- Your communications/visits remain confidential, even to the UNM administration;
- Visitors to the Faculty Ombuds space will be offered confidential consultation about their concerns, referrals to other UNM services/offices, and the option to engage in informal mediation with the individual with whom they are in conflict.
- This office supports entirely informal dispute resolution, and does not engage in investigation, advocacy, or sanction of parties to a dispute.
Confidential Advocates
The Women's and the LGBTQ Resource Centers are staffed by trained and confidential Advocates, who offer referrals and some continuing support for faculty and staff of any gender who have experienced harassment based on their sexuality and/or gender identity.
- Advocates trained in trauma-informed care will listen to what happened and offer relevant and confidential supportive services;
- Advocates can help visitors identify and navigate formal reporting options, and may be able to accompany you to appointments or meetings to deal with your experience.
- Because your communications with Advocates are confidential and the Resource Centers do not document your visit, no further actions are triggered by conferring with a confidential Advocate.
Counseling, Assistance and Referral Services (CARS)
CARS provides on-site and remote? services to assist UNM faculty and staff members with professional and personal concerns. Relationship difficulties, anxiety, stress and job burnout, depression, eldercare, coworker conflicts, alcohol or other drug abuse, managing change, grief and loss issues and preparing for retirement are just a few of the issues CARS can address.
- Crisis intervention during work hours.
- Regular appointments to treat a wide range of staff and faculty concerns from a therapeutic perspective.
- When warranted, CARS may arrange for departmental workshops or in-service trainings.
Other mental health services, both at UNM and in the community, may be found at https://mentalhealth.unm.edu/
ADVANCE at UNM
Funded by the National Science Foundation, ADVANCE at UNM has developed a variety of research-based programs to promote the recruitment, retention, and advancement of women faculty in STEM and other fields. ADVANCE offers required workshops for administrators and faculty engaged in faculty searches; provides information and ongoing support to new faculty; administers yearly awards to women in STEM; conducts interviews and surveys on Main campus climate; and holds workshops on faculty promotion and mentorship. Primarily directed at women faculty in STEM on Main campus, ADVANCE’s offices and programming provide resources and safe spaces for faculty from all disciplines.
- ADVANCE offers information, support, and referral for individual faculty navigating the academic workplace, including matters of promotion and tenure, academic workload, work-life balance, research and publication, and professional advancement. ADVANCE works with faculty to identify relevant resources and workshops, and offers time and space for discussion and writing groups dedicated to scholarly advancement.
- Faculty concerns disclosed to ADVANCE leadership are treated as confidential with respect to faculty’s supervisor and the administration, except for disclosures of sexual harassment or discrimination, which are reportable to CEEO, and of imminent harm to one’s self or others, which are reportable to the relevant health and policing officials.
Division for Equity and Inclusion (DEI)
The Division for Equity and Inclusion (DEI) is an administrative unit that develops programming for greater justice, equity, accessibility, diversity, and inclusion (JEADI) at UNM. Among its many initiatives, DEI leaders engages in research, provide workshops, facilitates the undergraduate curriculum requirement, and promotes diversity in staff and faculty hiring. DEI created and maintains the Staff-Faculty Wayfinder Website.
- DEI offers information, support, and referral to community members who may have experienced or witnessed incidents of harassment, bias, and discrimination at UNM. Where circumstances permit, DEI leaders may facilitate individuals seeking to report such incidents, pursue formal complaints, or connect with staff and faculty who have had similar experiences.
- Information about harmful incidents disclosed to DEI leadership are treated as confidential with respect to the staff/faculty’s supervisor/chair and the administration, except for disclosures of sexual harassment or discrimination, which are reportable to CEEO, and of imminent harm to one’s self or others, which are reportable to the relevant health and policing officials.
Accessibility Resource Center (ARC)
In addition to offering a wide range of services for students with disabilities, ARC also supports staff and faculty with disabilities to address problems in the workplace through referrals to relevant campus and community resources.
- ARC offers guidance to staff and faculty with disabilities, including appropriate referrals for reporting discrimination and seeking confidential support.
- IThe Department of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services (DHHS) offers a variety of accommodations for any member of the campus community.
- ARC staff are not required to report individual incidents of discrimination based on disability to CEEO, but the office does rely on de-identified reports to raise awareness about disability on campus.
Chair or Director
Your Chair or Director may advocate on your behalf or help you resolve the conflict informally, but they are also required to report certain incidents and may also have responsibility toward the offending colleague or student.
Chairs or Directors also play an important role in resolving bullying disputes – whether formally or informally -- via the University’s Respectful Campus policies. If you wish to report bullying by another staff member, contact the offending colleague’s supervisor; if the bullying is carried out by faculty, contact the faculty member’s chair.
- The Chair or Director may be able to refer you to helpful campus and community resources;
- Your Chair or Director may recommend remedies to help manage the situation, including voluntary mediation and changes to work schedule or environment.
- If you choose to formally report bullying, your Chair or Director may seek informal resolution or disciplinary action if the offending party reports to the same supervisor;
- As in any situation where you share information with someone other than a confidential resource, the offending party(ies) may seek retaliation, which is prohibited under university policy but can occur.
Report
Office of Compliance, Ethics, & Equal Opportunity (CEEO)
The Office of Compliance, Ethics & Equal Opportunity (CEEO) investigates reports of discrimination and harassment. CEEO ensures compliance with all University policies that uphold the rights of protected status (religion, age, gender identity, race, disability, etc.). The office also protects equal rights to programs and activities of the University under Title IX.
- You may choose to file an anonymous report with CEEO.
- You may not learn the outcome of a particular complaint, depending on your role in the CEEO process.
- CEEO staff you speak with will explain how they will handle your report, so that you can decide whether and how you wish to move forward with a complaint. They will discuss informal and formal complaints, available accommodations, supportive measures, and the university’s anti-retaliation policy.
- CEEO staff will also refer you to available campus and community resources for support and advocacy.
- CEEO does not advocate for anyone involved a complaint, make policy findings about alleged discrimination or harassment, or sanction those found to have violated University policies.
- You may be contacted byCEEO for more information about the incident, or to serve as a witness in an ongoing investigation. Your participation in this process is optional and voluntary.
- When you provide CEEO with information about a possible policy violation, the office may start an investigation without your participation or consent.
- Even if you do not file a formal complaint, CEEO may invite individuals alleged to have engaged in misconduct to take part in an “informal resolution.” This meeting is designedto prevent recurrence of the behavior in question.
- CEEO shares information with University officials and participants to a complaint as required by law and/or “the obligation to protect the rights/safety of others.”
EthicsPoint Hotline
EthicsPoint is a third-party hotline and website through which any member of the campus community can report any suspected misconduct at the university. The UNM Compliance Office uses this information to initiate investigations and generate data on policy violations at UNM. You may use EthicsPoint to submit either an anonymous or identified report to the University.
- The University may choose to start an investigation per the relevant policy.
- If you provide your name, someone from the University may contact you for more information about the incident. They may also ask you to serve as a witness in an ongoing investigation.
- If you choose to remain anonymous, you will not be contacted unless you file your report with another campus office. However, be aware that your report to the EthicsPoint Hotline may trigger a University investigation of the campus unit where the incident occurred.
- CEEO will use the information you provide to identify individuals and units that have engaged in repeated misconduct.
- You may learn about actions the University has taken in response to your anonymous report by logging back in to the EthicsPoint website.
Chair or Director
Your Chair or Director may advocate on your behalf or help you resolve the conflict informally, but they are also required to report certain incidents and may also have responsibility toward the offending colleague or student.
Chairs and Directors may also play an important role in resolving bullying disputes – whether formally or informally -- the University’s Respectful Campus policies. If you wish to report bullying by another staff member, contact the offending colleague’s supervisor; if the bullying is carried out by faculty, contact the faculty member’s chair.
- The Chair or Director may be able to refer you to helpful campus and community resources;
- Your Chair or Director may recommend remedies to help manage the situation, including voluntary mediation and changes to work schedule or environment.
- If you choose to formally report bullying, your Chair or Director may seek informal resolution or disciplinary action if the offending party reports to the same supervisor;
- As in any situation where you share information with someone other than a confidential resource, the offending party(ies) may seek retaliation, which is prohibited under university policy but can occur.
