Assessing the Organizational Culture of Higher Education Institutions 1 Public Administration Review, Vol. 9999, Iss. 9999, pp. 1–5. © 2020 by The American Society for Public Administration. DOI:10.1111/puar.13179. Stephanie Dolamore Tara N. Richards University of Nebraska Omaha Assessing the Organizational Culture of Higher Education Institutions in an Era of #MeToo Abstract: Sexual harassment was established as a form of sex discrimination in institutions of higher education (IHEs) under Title IX of the Education Amendments to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Since then, decades of victimization surveys beginning in the 1980s show that sexual misconduct continues to be a significant problem for IHEs. Estimates suggest that as many as 25 percent of college women experience a sexual assault while in college, while as many as 34 percent experience attempted or completed unwanted kissing, sexual touching using physical force, threat of physical force, and/or verbal coercion during their college career. In this Viewpoint essay, the authors propose the Preventing and Addressing Sexual Misconduct Framework as a tool to assess and cultivate an organizational culture that is responsive to these concerning trends. Pulling from an interdisciplinary body of scholarship and the philosophy of the #MeToo movement, this tool is a starting place for the continued dialogue that is needed to more fully address sexual misconduct on college campuses. Evidence for Practice • Sexual misconduct is a significant problem in institutions of higher education. Estimates suggest that as many as 25% of college women experience a sexual assault while in college (Fisher, Cullen, and Turner 2000). • Current responses by institutions of higher education focus on ‘checking the box’ compliance and reducing potential legal liability, and do not necessarily focus on preventing sexual violence or serving survivors post- assault. • Mature organizational responses to concerning trends in sexual misconduct require a significant refocusing of the organizational culture of each institution. One such tool to accomplish this work is the proposed Preventing and Addressing Sexual Misconduct (PASM) Framework. I n 1972, the Education Amendments to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 were signed into law. Title IX of these amendments states, “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under, any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” 1 Sexual harassment has been established as a form of sex discrimination in institutions of higher education (IHEs) under Title IX through civil case precedent, 2 which is the role of this legislation in more recent in public memory. At the same time, decades of victimization surveys beginning in the 1980s (Koss, Gidycz, and Wisniewski 1987) have uncovered that gender-based violence, often referred to as “sexual misconduct” in higher education, continues to be a significant problem for IHEs (for a review, see Fedina, Holmes, and Backes 2018). Estimates suggest that as many as 25 percent of college women experience a sexual assault while in college (Fisher, Cullen, and Turner 2000), while as many as 34 percent experience attempted or completed unwanted kissing, sexual touching using physical force, threat of physical force, and/or verbal coercion during their college career (Minow and Einolf 2009). Furthermore, while this piece emphasizes the U.S. context of sexual misconduct at IHEs, international research indicates that gender-based violence on campuses is not unique to the United States (see, e.g., Barnes 2016; Bull et al. 2018). In the contemporary narrative of sexual misconduct on college campuses, there is no doubt that individual accountability is an important dimension of preventing and addressing sexual misconduct. However, organizational responses are also needed. These organizational-level responses must address the culture that perpetuates sexual violence across the globe, including responses from anchor institutions of democracy, such as colleges and universities (Dexter and Blankenberg 2016; Holden and Tryhorn 2013). In this Viewpoint essay, we propose the Preventing and Addressing Sexual Misconduct (PASM) Framework as a tool to assess and cultivate Gallaudet University Tara N. Richards is an assistant professor in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Nebraska Omaha. Her research and teaching focus on intimate partner violence, sexual assault, and the role of gender in criminal justice system processes. Her recent articles have appeared in Justice Quarterly, Law and Human Behavior, and Crime & Delinquency. She serves on Douglas County, Nebraska’s Domestic Violence Community Response Team, Sexual Assault Response Team, and Sexual Assault Kit Initiative Working. Email: tararichards@unomaha.edu Stephanie Dolamore is an assistant professor in the Department of Government and Public Affairs at Gallaudet University. She teaches in the bilingual master of public administration program for D/deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing students. Her research focuses on the intersection of social justice and public organizations, with a specific focus on the promotion of public values in organizational culture. E-mail: stephanie.dolamore@gallaudet.edu Symposium Article