New disciplinary office director looks to become 'proactive'

The new director of the Office of Student Conduct, Julie Lyzinski Nettleton , wants to become the face of discipline at Penn.

Nettleton, who officially took over the role of OSC director this week after serving as interim director, left her previous role as director of the Office of Alcohol and Other Drug Program Initiatives.

“One thing I think I did very well [at AOD] — for better or for worse — I was the face of alcohol,” Nettleton said in an interview last week. “I don’t think anyone ever questioned who to go to, who to talk to, who made decisions about it. It was my face. I’m excited to do that same thing here.”

Nettleton hopes that putting a friendly face on the office might help it become more relevant to the lives of students and faculty. One of her top priorities is building relationships with faculty in the same way she worked with other areas of the University during her role at AOD.

In doing so, Nettleton aims to make OSC a more proactive office. While she acknowledges that the reactionary element will always exist since the office must respond to complaints, she believes there is room to expand the educational outreach side of OSC.

Nettleton’s background is in counseling, rather than law or discipline — she holds a master’s degree in human services and counseling, is licensed in professional counseling in the state of New Jersey and has worked in an adolescent psycho-social rehabilitation agency. But she says that her experiences will translate well to her new job.

“At my role in Alcohol and Other Drugs, I didn’t always play good cop,” said Nettleton, who is also a doctoral student at the Graduate School of Education. “A large part of my job was to engage students to make them understand not just how their actions mattered, but how they could be held responsible for those actions.”

Nettleton was chosen from a pool of national candidates, some of whom direct disciplinary offices at other college campuses, and was ultimately chosen over an unaffiliated finalist because of her “strong experience as a campus leader around important issues related to conduct and community,” said Rob Nelson , executive director for education and academic planning in the Provost’s Office.

“What I think she brings to the position is that ability and skill set to lead campus discussions,” Nelson said.

Nettleton said she is committed to the notion of accountability, but recognized that “holding a student accountable does not take place in a vacuum.” She said her experience in the mental health field would help her monitor students’ stress when they come into the office to make or respond to a complaint.

“There’s going to be stress involved,” Nettleton said. “Being investigated isn’t always a fun place to be, being found responsible can be really difficult, but navigating the process in a way where we’re also supporting students and making sure students are being cared for, I think is extremely important.”

College senior Michele Fletcher — the co-chair of the University Honor Council — said Nettleton’s dedication to accountability and caring for students was obvious when she met with the Honor Council several weeks ago. The Honor Council is the undergraduate group that educates students about University codes of conduct and academic integrity and sends representatives to sit on student conduct hearing panels.

“She’s so easy to talk to and very accessible,” Fletcher said. “That’s exactly what this office needs.”

During her tenure at AOD, Nettleton made connections with other offices and staff, including Counseling and Psychological Services, Student Intervention Services, Student Health Service and the college houses.

“She really has a very thorough understanding of how this campus works,” Associate Director of AOD Noelle Melartin said of Nettleton.

Still, Nettleton will encounter new challenges during her time as OSC director. On Jan. 1, Penn will officially open a new office to deal exclusively with sexual violence cases. Nettleton said that while she will be open to playing a consulting role in the office’s launch, the opening should free up much-needed time for OSC to focus on its outreach and internal initiatives.

One of her first tasks will be to issue reports for the past four academic years detailing the cases that have been brought to OSC and the sanctions the office has administered. The Daily Pennsylvanian reported last month that the office has failed to produce annual reports for the last four years.

OSC will issue those reports no later than Jan. 9, according to a letter to the editor printed in the DP from Vice Provost for Education Andrew Binns . The reports for the 2014-15 academic year will be available by July 31.

Nettleton does not anticipate reporting in the future to be problematic, since the office is now fully acquainted with the database that was installed four years ago. While Penn is less transparent than peer schools in reporting disciplinary outcomes, Nettleton said the new reports will not include much more detailed information than in past years due to privacy concerns. However, she said she would keep tabs on trends.

“I think data is very helpful, and I definitely plan on using key data sets, whether they’re part of the annual report or completely different,” Nettleton said.

Now that Nettleton is officially out of her role as director of AOD, the search for her replacement can commence, Associate Vice Provost for Student Affairs Hikaru Kozuma said in an email. The administration aims to have a new director in place next semester. In the meantime, the role will be left open.

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