Dr. Richard Baker, who has served as Rice’s Executive Director for Institutional Equity and EEO and the University’s Title IX Coordinator for three and a half years, is the first to admit that his job does not make him popular. His title mandates that he confronts alleged instances of discrimination in the Rice community on a daily basis, an uncomfortable task at the crossroads of interpersonal strife and deeply personal pain. Yet, Dr. Baker, who is uniquely gifted in piecing together evidence and fairly interpreting what he finds, loves his job. As he explains in a video on the Office of Access, Equity, and Equal Opportunity’s website, he gravitates towards this line of work because he has “a passion for fairness, justice, equity, belonging, and equal opportunity.” It is the sheer heaviness and discomfort of the work that makes it critical for the wellbeing of the community, and he finds his job rewarding for that very reason. Even from my brief time sitting down with him, I could tell that he approaches his work with a profound intentionality and deliberate care.
Walking into Dr. Rich Baker’s office on the third floor of the Cambridge Building, my eyes were drawn to the centerpiece of his office decor, a custom piece entitled “Weighted Perspectives.” Before my interview with Dr. Baker began in earnest, he pointed to the artwork as the heart of his work laid bare, a message made of paper-mâché that he decodes for visitors to understand the mission of his office.
Over a muted backdrop of blue, red, and green hues, bright multicolored lines intersect and form planes, creating the illusion of a multidimensional frame around the image of a staircase at the center of the work. Dr. Baker explains that the art represents the act of piecing together the disparate narratives of complainants and respondents to determine whether or not discrimination has occurred based on the evidence at hand. The staircase at the center is the goal, as it symbolizes the equal opportunity that everyone in the Rice community should have access to.
Dr. Baker’s work intends to keep the path of the stairway clear. Broadly speaking, he told me that his work requires him “to receive reports of discrimination and harassment, identify policies and behaviors that may impact a person’s ability to pursue equal opportunity at Rice, to stop that action from occurring, and address the effect of that harassment.” However, true success in his field is not simply redressing individual instances of harm, but cutting off discriminatory culture at its root. The active disruption of discrimination requires intervention on behalf of individuals in protected categories, such as race, gender identity, sexual orientation, and religion. As Dr. Baker sees it, “Anti-discrimination is [about preventing harm based on]...Attributes and immutable characteristics. Anti-discrimination is a holistic approach: holistic being that I am born perfect and shouldn’t have to suffer based on something I couldn’t choose at birth.”
Further, he attests that his motivation is rooting out discrimination and not perpetuating the mythical image of Rice as a community where such incidents never occur. His loyalties first and foremost lie with those that depend on him to do his job in good faith. “As the person that implements the anti-discrimination policies,” he explains, “Rice and its students, employees, alumni, and entire community of Rice are depending on me to create fair and legal systems and procedures to address harassment. I’m not here to advocate for management, I’m here to defend Rice’s policies of anti-discrimination.”
In recent years, Dr. Baker has had to guide Rice’s response to the shifting regulatory landscape regarding Title IX. When the Trump administration made changes to Title IX in 2020, Rice had to adapt to be in compliance with federal requirements, including accommodating the controversial requirement of adversarial hearings with cross-examination during the investigation of Title IX claims. Now, with the Biden administration's proposed changes to Title IX likely to be implemented within the year, Rice will have the opportunity to reevaluate its Title IX policies in line with the university's values. Dr. Baker is looking forward to going back to the drawing board for Rice’s Title IX policies, with careful attention paid to the needs of stakeholders across campus. As he explained to me, Rice will benefit from the increased discretion allotted to campuses as allowed by the federal government under the new regulations. “Where there's an opportunity is where there isn't a mandate. We can fill the opportunity with what aligns with our culture,” he reflected. “The story of our policy will include the many diverse voices across our campus. In addition to being legally compliant, we have policies that are unique to Rice. Other universities have legal [departments] write the policies, and the policies aren’t unique. At Rice, there are many contributors…The student voice at Rice is a very powerful one.”
Dr. Baker plans on harnessing the power of the student voice at Rice for a new training initiative called 9 on the Nines. On the ninth day of every month at 9:00, his office will release a short Instagram video, or “micro-training,” that educates students on issues related to Title IX, personal safety, restorative justice opportunities, and healthy relationship practices. His office will collaborate with the SA’s Sexual Assault Prevention Committee in order to increase engagement with the content and field stories that are relevant and authentic to students’ experiences at Rice. Dr. Baker shared that he hopes to open up funding so that students can apply for block grants to create their own micro-trainings or educational events surrounding Title IX issues: “We need more students to promote healthy conversations and attitudes towards [violence prevention].”
For members of the Rice community who want to engage with the Office of Access, Equity, and Equal Opportunity, Dr. Baker recommends checking out the office’s website or swinging by in person. Ultimately, though, you can become an effective ambassador for the office without ever stepping through Dr. Baker’s door. In embodying and emphasizing values such as responsibility, integrity, community, excellence, diversity, equity, and inclusion, you can promote the goals of the Office of AEEO while making Rice a better place for everyone. We can all do our part to keep the pathway of the staircase of opportunity clear.
Paige Russell is the Compliance Specialist in the Office of Ethics, Compliance and Enterprise Risk.