Penn’s Office of Religious and Ethnic Inclusion opens in effort to address trends of religious bias

Penn officially opened its Office of Religious and Ethnic Inclusion on Dec. 17, 2024. 

The office was established in response to trends of antisemitism, Islamophobia, and other instances of religious bias as announced by Interim Penn President Larry Jameson in September. Housed in Room 216 of the Franklin Building, the OREI was developed with the goal of ensuring that Penn fulfills its responsibility under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination in programs that receive federal financial assistance. 

The office’s formation is a response to recommendations from the Action Plan to Combat Antisemitism and the reports from the University Task Force on Antisemitism and the Presidential Commission on Countering Hate and Building Community. The task forces were formed last year in response to concerns about reactions on campus to the Israel-Hamas war.

“The OREI will focus on educating the Penn community on issues around religious and ethnic intolerance and addressing reports of religious and/or ethnic intolerance, including harassment and discrimination,” OREI Co-Director Steve Ginsburg wrote in a statement to The Daily Pennsylvanian.

The office reports to the University president’s chief of staff and works closely with the Title IX Office, the Office of Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity, the Office of the Provost, the deans, the Office of the Chaplain, the Department of Public Safety, the Division of Human Resources, and Restorative Practices at Penn.

“Given the mission of the office, and what falls under its purview related to Title VI, we expect to receive reports relating to discrimination, including harassment based on actual or perceived shared ancestry or religious identity,” Penn Associate General Counsel and Chief Investigator Deborah Frey wrote to the DP. 

Any individual with a PennKey can file a report to initiate an investigation. The OREI is not authorized to sanction individuals but can make recommendations to other offices and law enforcement if necessary.

In the fall 2024 semester, Ginsburg and OREI Co-Director Majid Alsayegh met with faculty, student, and staff representatives, including students in the SNF Paideia Program, the Muslim, Arab, and Palestinian advisory group, and the Jewish student advisory group to discuss challenges the student groups have faced and discuss potential future initiatives with students. 

“The OREI will enable members of the Penn community to request a consultation or investigation of potential allegations that fall under OREI’s purview,” Frey wrote. This introduction of investigation is an expansion of past channels Penn offered for reporting allegations of religious or ethnic bias and discrimination, harassment, and retaliation through avenues such as the Penn Diversity Reporting Form and other University resources. 

To mediate, OREI will build upon existing tactics used by Restorative Practices @ Penn by partnering with the RP@P program. RP@P uses a facilitated approach to promote healing, accountability, and community building when the circumstance calls for it. OREI will also employ restorative practice principles to deescalate and address instances of discrimination as a suitable alternative to the formal investigation process.

“Whenever appropriate and when parties are amenable, the OREI will endeavor to resolve disputes within the purview of the [restorative practices] mediation process,” Alsayegh wrote to the DP.

OREI is also developing educational speaker events and trainings alongside the key members of campus to roll out in the spring. As the office expands this semester, it plans to hire a program and case manager to supervise programming, investigations, and office administration.