Penn announces new head of disciplinary office

The University has named Julie Lyzinski Nettleton as the new permanent director of the Office of Student Conduct.

Nettleton, who is the director of the the Office of Alcohol and Other Drug Program Initiatives, is currently serving as the interim director of OSC. She will assume the permanent role starting Nov. 15.

Nettleton will oversee the office as it transitions away from investigating sexual assault complaints. This responsibility will be handled by a new investigative office dedicated solely  to sexual assault cases. These cases, along with others where academic integrity or conduct code violations are in question, are currently handled by OSC alone. Nettleton will also face the ongoing challenge of issuing an updated report of statistics for misconduct cases. As reported in October by The Daily Pennsylvanian, OSC has failed to issue an annual report four years in a row.

In a letter to the editor last week, Vice Provost for Education Andrew Binns said the new director’s "first priority will be to address the data tracking and related issues that have delayed these reports in the past.” The letter said a report for academic years 2009-10 through 2013-14 would be issued no later than Jan. 9.

Nettleton has served as interim director since June 16 after her predecessor, Michele Goldfarb, left to pursue a job as a staff attorney for the Superior Court of Pennsylvania. Goldfarb had served as director from 1996 to 2006 and again since 2012.

Before coming to Penn in 2005, Nettleton, who holds a master’s degree  in human services and counseling, worked at a psycho-social rehabilitation agency and in a private practice focusing on adolescent counseling.

Nettleton was not available for an interview for this article.

She has kept her role at Alcohol and Other Drug Program Initiatives — where she has served since 2005 — during her time as interim director. Now that she will be staying at OSC, the Provost’s Office must begin searching for her replacement.

Associate Vice Provost for Student Affairs Hikaru Kozuma said in an email that the search for a new director could not be initiated until Nettleton officially left the position. He said that the search team will include “partners and students” to “identify a successor in the near future.”

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