Gov. McDonnell responds to Cuccinelli requests, prompts Rao response
Erica Terrini
News Editor
An executive directive prohibiting employee discrimination for state agencies was issued by Gov. McDonnell Wednesday, March 10 in response to last week’s request by Virginia Attorney General Ken Cucinelli to ban anti-discrimination policies from public colleges and universities, just hours after a VCU rally and march in protest of the request.
The directive provides a “standard of conduct” regarding employee discrimination and states it is prohibited in the areas of “hiring, promotion, compensation, treatment, discipline, and termination.”
Members of state agencies who violate the directive will “be subject to appropriate disciplinary action, ranging from reprimand to termination,” according to the directive.
Following the governor’s directive, university President Michael Rao issued an e-mail to the VCU and VCU Health System.
Rao stated the directive reinforces the current anti-discrimination policy that was approved by the university’s governing board. He stated the university’s commitment to nondiscrimination is “long-standing,” and improvements were made to the University Equity and Diversity Committee Web site in January 2010.
Rao stated he was grateful for Provost Stephen Gottfredson’s organization of the campus forums and community responses from VCU and the VCU Health System.
