George Washington University
PA-6: Support for Underrepresented Groups

The University's Multicultural Student Services Center (MSSC) has a variety of support programs in place to support underrepresented groups on campus. MSSC is GW's center for multicultural student communication, community building, and leadership.  MSSC collaborates with faculty and major university offices to develop co-curricular and experiential learning opportunities for GW students to support the shaping of a campus climate that welcomes cultural, racial, ethnic, and intellectual diversity. The Center provides peer and professional staff, services, and other resources to support the academic, cultural, social, spiritual and professional growth of students as well as to enhance the retention, inclusion and increase in participation rates of students of color. MSSC sponsors RISE (a peer mentoring program), the Black Men's Initiative (a program geared to Black males at GW and the development of their complete selves), monthly cultural heritage celebrations, culture-centered activities, brown bag luncheons with faculty, a leadership series, lectures and other events to name a few that support the academic, social, intellectual and spiritual growth of underrepresented groups within the student body. The University Counseling Center (UCC) provides list of resources regarding culture and mental health. The UCC also provides counseling consultations at the MSSC to provide insight, support and introduction to other support resources. The Office of Military and Veterans Affairs supports the learning, service, and excellence of students who are military members, veterans and military family members. The Office of Disability Support Services provides registration assistance, readers, interpreters, scribes, individualized learning specialist support, adaptive materials and equipment, assistance with note taking, laboratory and library assistance, and test accommodations for students with a range of disabilities.

The university is an Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action (EEO/AA) employer committed to maintaining a non-discriminatory, diverse work environment. The university does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, or on any other basis prohibited by applicable law in any of its programs or activities. Contact: Office of Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action. Policies, procedures and programs addressing discrimination on the basis of sex, including relationship and sexual violence and stalking, can be found in the Threats and Violence Policy and Sexual Harassment and Sexual Violence Policy and Procedures, and the Annual Safety and Security Report. As of October 1, 2014, the latter includes information about all possible sanctions, interim academic measures, and prevention programming. Information about confidential reporting and on- and off-campus support services can be found on the newly-created one-stop shop HAVEN website (designed in 2013) and Sexual Assault Crisis Response (SARC) team website. A search is in progress for a new position, the Assistant Director for Sexual Assault Prevention and Response; new hire is expected to be in place by January 2015 Contact: Office of the Title IX Coordinator Contact for questions regarding the protections against discrimination on the basis of disability: Students - Associate Dean of Students, Administrative Services, Office of the Dean of Students. Other members of the university community may contact the Executive Director of Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action.

http://ci.gwu.edu/multicultural-student-services-center-mssc, http://gwired.gwu.edu/mssc, http://ode.hr.gwu.edu/emdp, http://hr.gwu.edu/colonial-community, http://counselingcenter.gwu.edu/campus-and-community-resources http://military.gwu.edu/mission http://www.gwu.edu/disability-support-services http://my.gwu.edu/files/policies/SexualHarassmentFINAL.pdf http://gwired.gwu.edu/sarcteam/report/ http://haven.gwu.edu/