Equal opportunity and affirmative action are integral to employment and education at Chatham College because we recognize that the College’s present and future strength is based primarily on people and their skills, experience, and potential to develop, no matter what their race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age disability, veteran status, marital status, or any other legally protected status.

The College has a policy of equal employment and education opportunities and affirmative action that is broad in scope and supported at all levels of the College. The following statements summarize the College’s policy on equal employment, educational opportunity and affirmative action.

The College will make good faith efforts, (through responsible managers and officials) in accordance with the law, to recruit, hire, train, and promote persons in all job titles, without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, familial status, pregnancy, national origin, age, disability, or status as a disabled veteran or veteran of the Vietnam era, except when age or sex are bona fide occupational requirement or when a specific disability constitutes a bona fide occupational disqualification.

College managers and officials shall take affirmative action to ensure that protected group members are introduced into the work force, the student body, and College community. Students and employees in protected groups are encouraged to apply for and participate in all College provided opportunities including promotional, educational, and training opportunities.

College officials will make continual efforts to ensure that hiring and promotion decisions are in accord with principles of equal opportunity by imposing only legitimate business requirements for hiring and promotional opportunities. Likewise, student admission and retention decisions will be made with the principles of equal opportunity at the forefront.

All personnel actions, such as compensation, benefits, transfers, layoff, return from layoff, as well as College-sponsored training, education, tuition assistance, and social and recreational programs, will be administered without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, marital status, familial status, disability, status as a disabled veteran or veteran of the Vietnam era, or any other legally protected status.

College managers and officials shall base all employment and student admission decisions on the principles of equal opportunity and with the intent to further the College’s commitment to those principles.

The College encourages members of protected groups to participate in its college-wide social activities and shall post notices of all college-wide social events for the benefit of all employees and students.

The president’s office, with the assistance of the human resources office, will monitor the affirmative action policy of the College.

Chatham College has adopted this policy on a strictly voluntary basis. The existence of this policy should not be construed as an admission by the College in whole or in part, that in fact members of protected groups have been or are presently being underutilized, concentrated, or discriminated against in any way by the College in violation of federal, state or local fair employment practice laws.

Policy Effective Date: June 1, 1999