Dear Campus Community:
I am very pleased to announce that the university has hired Kellie Brennan as our new Executive Director of Civil Rights & Whistleblower Compliance. In this role, Brennan will oversee all institutional compliance and investigation efforts related to harassment and discrimination based on protected categories including race, color, national origin, gender, age, sexual orientation/identity as well as allegations of sexual harassment and sexual violence. While disability compliance investigations will move under Brennan, institutional compliance efforts related to disability will remain with the Office of Disability Access and Compliance. In addition, Brennan will direct campus compliance with University of California Whistleblower and Whistleblower Protection policies and laws. This new role is an important step in our continued efforts to create a campus environment where our community members can work and learn free of harassment and discrimin ation.
Brennan was hired following an extensive national search. She is a seasoned higher education professional with over 16 years of experience that includes oversight of sexual misconduct investigations, management of federal audits, and adjudication of student conduct matters. Brennan most recently served as the Compliance Director and Title IX/Clery Coordinator at The Ohio State University, where she managed the university’s investigation and response to incidents of harassment and discrimination and engaged in policy development, comprehensive prevention education, climate assessment and culture change initiatives. She managed the university’s response to compliance audits from the Office for Civil Rights under the U.S. Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services, as well as complaint-driven investigations under Title IX, the Clery Act, and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Her background also includes serving as the Assistant Director of Judicial Affairs at the University of Cincinnati, where she investigated and adjudicated complaints involving student misconduct. Following that position, she served as the Director of Student Conduct at Columbus State Community College, a large, urban 2-year institution, where she designed and implemented the investigative resolution policy and process; and created and facilitated the Behavioral Intervention and Threat Assessment Teams.
Brennan is a graduate of Indiana University, with a dual Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and Criminal Justice. She has a law degree from the University of Cincinnati. Brennan will begin July 6th and will work remotely in Ohio while transitioning to move to the Bay Area with her family. We are thrilled to have her join us to lead our civil rights compliance and whistleblower investigations team.
If you are a manager who supervises UC Berkeley employees without email access, please circulate this information to all.
