Assistant Vice President for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

The Assistant Vice President of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, Rebecca Gordon, serves as the Title IX/504 Coordinator and is located in Old Main, 30 N Brainard, Suite 524.

Contact information: rgordon@noctrl.edu or 630-637-5340

Reports can also be made to the Assistant Vice President for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion through the
Sexual Misconduct Online Reporting Form.

Rebecca Gordon, EdD

Bio

Dr. Gordon is the Assistant Vice President for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion for North Central College. Central to Dr. Gordon’s role at the College is creating an inclusive and welcoming campus environment based on all aspects of social identity. Dr. Gordon provides training on understanding and preventing implicit bias, micro aggressions, sex and gender-based harassment, discrimination, sexual violence, and Title IX compliance.

Dr. Gordon worked at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) as a counseling psychologist and subsequently as the director of the women’s center and campus advocacy program for the majority of her career. At UIC, Dr. Gordon taught courses in the Gender and Women’s Studies department as well as the Honors program on the social constructions of identity; power, privilege and oppression; bystander intervention; and intergroup dialogue. As an internal consultant at UIC, Dr. Gordon facilitated mediations and retreats to address inclusion, conflict, teambuilding, communication, and climate. Dr. Gordon was internally recruited to be the Title IX Coordinator and Executive Associate Director of UIC’s Office for Access and Equity.

Dr. Gordon has training in facilitating mediations, restorative justice conferences, and Safe Zone workshops. As an external consultant, Dr. Gordon has provided teambuilding, sexual harassment, and diversity and inclusion-related trainings to other organizations.

In responding to incidents of sexual or gender-based violence or harassment, the Assistant Vice President for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion assists individuals with:

1. understanding the available options;
2. implementing interim safety measures such as changing offices or housing assignments, issuing College No Contact or Trespass Orders, or issuing interim suspensions;
3. obtaining academic accommodations which could include flexible deadlines, excused absences, support of academically related petitions or withdrawal from classes without academic or financial penalty;
4. overseeing Title IX related investigations and appeals processes; and
5. making referrals.

The Assistant Vice President for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion works closely with various offices on campus to coordinate the College’s response to and support of individuals who experience sexual and gender-based violence and harassment.

Reporting Confidentially to the Assistant Vice President for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion:

A reporting party can report an incident and ask for confidentiality or for a complaint not to be investigated. While confidentiality will limit the Assistant Vice President for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion's ability to respond, the Assistant Vice President for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion will attempt to honor these requests when it can maintain a safe, non-discriminatory environment for the reporting party and the campus community.

In these cases, the Assistant Vice President for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion would conduct a preliminary inquiry to determine appropriate remedies and necessary steps to prevent recurrence of the alleged behavior.

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