September 16, 2024

Dear Members of Our Campus Community,

UC Santa Barbara is committed to maintaining and enhancing a safe, supportive, and respectful community where all individuals can live, learn, and work together in an atmosphere free of discrimination and harassment. In keeping with these principles, I am writing to reaffirm our commitment to preventing sexual violence and sexual harassment and discrimination, and to reinforce our campus and systemwide policies and procedures.

Beginning in April 2024, the University of California (University) undertook a rigorous consultative process to update its policies after the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) issued its updated 2024 Title IX Regulations. Since then, a number of states and organizations have launched legal challenges seeking to enjoin the DOE from implementing and enforcing the 2024 Title IX regulations. Due to the uncertainty around the 2024 regulations, the University has paused finalizing and implementing any new policies and is maintaining the current Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment (SVSH) Policy and Anti-Discrimination (A-D) Policy until there is further clarity.

An important part of our campus efforts includes mandatory reporting requirements, comprehensive training for staff and faculty, and confidential support services. Our Campus Advocacy, Resources and Education (CARE) Office continues to offer confidential support to UC Santa Barbara students, staff, and faculty affected by sexual harassment or sexual violence. Contact the CARE Office at 805-893-4613 or click here. For a full list of campus and community resources available to impacted parties, click here.

If you have questions about how the policy might be applied to a particular incident or conduct, please contact Ariana Alvarez, Title IX Officer and Local Implementation Officer, at ariana.alvarez@ucsb.edu. Additional information related to the Title IX Compliance & Discrimination and Harassment Prevention (Title IX/DHP) Office’s services is available online at the Title IX/DHP website.

Preventing discrimination and harassment, including sexual violence and sexual harassment, is a responsibility we all share, and enhancing our university’s culture of safety, respect, and accountability is an ongoing commitment of our entire community. Please join me in reaffirming our commitment.

Sincerely,

Henry T. Yang
Chancellor