Office of Equal Opportunity (OEO)
COVID-19 Update
COVID-19 Update: Drop in sessions are currently suspended. Please schedule an appointment by calling 808-932-7642 or emailing eeoaa@hawaii.edu. Any student or employee impacted by discrimination is encouraged to submit a report or file a complaint of discrimination using the options and resources found on these pages.
Daily operations, including but not limited to complaint processing, investigations and interim measures, will continue so as to assure that any discrimination, harassment, sexual violence, intimate partner violence, stalking, retaliation, or other discriminatory behaviors are addressed promptly.
Given our efforts to provide a safe campus and State law regarding social distancing, drop in meetings are temporarily suspended. Please contact us at (808) 932-7642 or eeoaa@hawaii.edu to schedule a meeting. Our meetings may take a different format, but we are still open and available.
Office of Equal Opportunity
Welcome to UH Hilo’s Office of Equal Opportunity! At UH Hilo, we value diversity as central to our mission and essential for effective participation in an increasingly global society. We seek to cultivate an inclusive community of people with varied characteristics, ideas, cultures, and world-views where our students, faculty, and staff celebrate difference and respect tradition. We especially embrace our responsibilities to the indigenous people of Hawaiʻi. We root our identity in this indigenous heritage and reflect the rich mix of Native Hawaiian, Asia-Pacific, local, national, and international cultures that embody the diversity of Hawaiʻi. We work to foster cross-cultural awareness to promote an intellectual and social environment that challenges all of us to learn and grow.
To aid in these efforts, it is the policy and commitment of the University of Hawaiʻi to ensure equal opportunity in higher education, both as a provider of education and as an employer. The Office of Equal Opportunity drives UH Hilo’s efforts to stop, prevent and remedy discrimination, while seeking to ensure a diverse, equitable and inclusive work and learning environment.
The OEO provides a number of resources to UH Hilo employee and student communities and engages in a variety of tasks to promote diversity, equity and inclusion across our learning and working environments. These include live and web based diversity and compliance trainings, skills workshops, confidential advocacy, analysis of data and implementation of an annual affirmative action plan, search committee briefings, provision of resources for diverse recruitment, employee disability accommodations, formal and informal investigations and resolution of complaints.
The OEO is a resource for all employees and students. We encourage you to review this website to better understand who we are and the role we play for the UH Hilo community.
Who We Are
The work of the Office of Equal Opportunity occurs within five primary areas: Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action (EEO/AA), Title IX, and Confidential Advocacy, and Prevention Education. Explore using the links below to learn more about the OEO and the work we do to engage with our campus and community constituents to ensure a safe learning environment, free from discrimination and inclusive of all.
EEO/AA
The focus of EEO/AA is compliance with federal, state, and University of Hawaiʻi non-discrimination and affirmative action policies and procedures, yielding a diverse and engaged workforce who are committed to student success.
Title IX
The OEO works to ensure that all students and employees have equal access to educational opportunities, and that no opportunity is denied on the basis of sex. The Title IX team leads the campus response to sex discrimination and gender based violence.
Confidential Advocacy
Students who have experienced sexual or gender based violence may receive confidential support provided by the OEO’s Confidential Advocate .
Prevention Education
The OEO’s Prevention Education program seeks to raise awareness of sex discrimination and gender based violence through education, programming and other outreach.