Office of Equal Opportunity gets new director

Francie Cordova has been appointed as the new director of the Office of Equal Opportunity.

Cordova came to UNM after serving as assistant chief counsel for the California Department of State Hospitals, which is the biggest provider of long-term mental health care in the world. In that position, she was responsible for many of the equal opportunity and affirmative action functions within the office. 

Those functions included recruitment and retention, affirmative action planning, equal employment opportunity, and civil rights issues. Cordova has also served as director of the New Mexico Human Rights Division, which is a state entity that investigates each claim of discrimination filed in New Mexico regarding issues such as employment, housing and public accommodation.

Cordova arrives amid other departmental changes and additional hires.

Dianne Anderson, director of communication at UNM, said “the changes at OEO are only part of an overall comprehensive approach to making our resources more readily available and accessible to the UNM campus. The new OEO director will be assessing her department, staff and their roles, then deciding if other actions should to be taken.”

The Daily Lobo caught up with Cordova on her fifth day in office to ask some questions about how she plans to lead the OEO as acting director.

What do you think is currently the biggest issue with equal opportunity at UNM?

OEO is unique in that our role includes compliance and investigation, education and guidance to the campus community regarding civil rights, Title IX and Clery issues. The biggest issue facing OEO is harnessing and focusing our resources. The University launched Lobo Respect in May 2014 to collaborate University resources and partners. It recognized that nearly 25 departments on campus hold pieces of the compliance, advocacy, investigative and education campus climate process that create a discrimination- and violence-free campus. These groups now work together as a united front, bringing their various talents and resources to the table. OEO is a major part of this equation, and we are performing internal process and procedure review to be the best partner we can be.

What recent changes have been made to the OEO (prior to your arrival), and how will those affect the University?

OEO transformation has started. OEO has hired a full-time Title IX coordinator. This coordinator, Heather Cowan, is very experienced in Title IX compliance and investigations. Heather is working on several Title IX initiatives, including training and outreach that will utilize all OEO staff. You will see an OEO presence at “student welcome back days” and other important campus events that focus on gender harassment and discrimination. OEO has also hired a full-time Clery coordinator, Rob Burford, who will work with campus police, housing and other key departments to accurately report crime statistics and provide training and risk reduction programs. Burford has over 20 years of experience with the University that include 15 in student affairs and discipline. His experience will be invaluable in moving the OEO mission forward.

What changes and/or new hires do you yourself plan to make, and how may those impact the University?

I have hired a Compliance Assistant who will administratively support the Clery, Title IX and OEO functions. I am currently in the process of hiring an additional compliance specialist (investigator). Because I am only 5 days into the position, I continue to review staffing. I will also focus on providing training for my staff, they in turn will provide training to our campus partners.

Matthew Reisen is a senior reporter for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @DailyLobo.