UC Berkeley Hires Sexual Harassment Point Person

BERKELEY (KCBS) -- The University of California, Berkeley has a new point person in its urgent effort to fight sexual harassment on campus, the university announced Sunday.

The interim position is being filled by History Department Dean Carla Hesse, who in a statement said she hopes to make a quick and significant impact on the investigation of sexual harassment reports on campus.

The position follows a string of sexual harassment accusations involving faculty members which some see as poorly investigated, and adjudicated.

ALSO READ: UC Berkeley Faculty Members Condemn Handling of Latest Case

Associative Student Body Representative Leah Romm told KCBS it's about time. "I really hope students are not so turned off at this point by the university's efforts that they won't kind of allow this to make a good impact," said Romm.

UC Chancellor Nicholas Dirks days ago promised a series of reforms.

"It's only when they're really under fire, and there's a lot of public attention that they start doing these things, and so honestly, we should have had this role two or three years before," Romm said.

The university is currently investigating 26 claims of sexual harassment.

In:
• Sexual Harassment