Support Officers

The Committee counts on its support officers to fully investigate honor cases, assist investigated students and Reporters through the Honor case process, educate community members about the System and its tenets, and maintain the relationship between community merchants and University students. The following links provide detailed information about each of the Committee's support officer pools as well as information about becoming a support officer.

Honor Advisors

The Honor Committee selects and trains a pool of Honor Advisors who are responsible for providing students going through the system, including Reporters, with emotional and confidential support and for providing the parties to which they are assigned with neutral and impartial information about the process they will be experiencing. Advisors provide procedural guidance, ensure a fair and complete consideration of the matter at hand, guarantee that the rights of all persons involved are protected, and offer personal support for those involved. Any individual who suspects that an honor violation may have occurred should confer with an Honor Advisor before taking any action. All conversations with an Honor Advisor are strictly confidential.

Each individual who decides to report a case is immediately assigned an Honor Advisor to advise them throughout the investigation process. This Honor Advisor keeps the Reporter informed of developments in the investigation and serves as a resource in answering the Reporter's questions and concerns. In addition, Honor Advisors assist the student suspected of committing an honor violation. An advisor helps explain the charges against the student and advises him of the rights afforded all students under the By-laws of the Honor Committee. If accused, the Advisors inform the student of his options; he may leave the University, thereby admitting guilt, or he may appeal the accusation by requesting a trial though the Honor Committee. In no way does the Advisor attempt to influence the decision of the student, but instead supports the student in this difficult decision-making process. Throughout all phases of the investigation and accusation, the Advisor provides personal support to the student and continually maintains open communication between the student and the Honor Committee.

If a trial is requested, the Honor advisor for the accused student works closely with the Honor Counsel to ensure that the rights of the student are protected. The Advisor attempts to help the student handle any academic, parental, or other problems that may arise during the case. This Advisor remains as a stable support for the student throughout the trial process.

Anyone with questions about possible honor violations may contact an Honor Advisor or Honor Committee representative. Conferring with an Honor Advisor or Committee representative in no way commits the individual to taking further action.

Honor Counsel

The Honor Committee selects and trains students as Honor Counsel to serve a twofold purpose: to investigate thoroughly and impartially a possible honor offense and to insure a fair and balanced representation of both the accused student's interest and the community's interests during the entire process.

Honor Counsel serve as trained investigators who thoroughly examine potential offenses by interviewing relevant witnesses and gathering evidence. Two Counsel, termed investigators, are responsible for the investigation and presentation of all information in a fair and equitable manner. The investigators always remain an impartial and non-judgmental element of the investigation.

The accused may select his own counsel from the general student body, the two investigators, or the Honor Counsel pool if he/she so desires; otherwise, the Honor Committee secures counsel for the student. Honor Counsel are required to receive permission from the student they represent for all actions at all points during a case.

In accordance with the principles of the Honor System, Counsel must conduct the trial in a fair and equitable manner. Counsel neither present nor argue legal precedents nor refer to decisions in past honor trials. Counsel are permitted to argue only the facts, and must refrain from making emotional or inflammatory remarks to the panel. They act as oral advocates in the trial.

If the jury requests that the accused student leave the University, the Counsel must advise the student that he or she has the right to appeal. If the Honor Committee grants an appeal, the Counsel continues to conduct proceedings on behalf of his/her party until the case is decided.

Honor Educators

The Honor Committee selects and trains a pool of educators who in turn promote understanding of the Honor System among members of the University community. Through their daily contact with students, Honor Educators act as a communication link between the student body and the Honor Committee.

In order to introduce first year students to the Honor System, Honor Educators visit the dormitories. In this setting, Honor Educators discuss various aspects of the System as well as the need for student involvement. The Educators also encourage students to ask questions so that they might come to a better understanding of the system and its philosophies, benefits, and boundaries. One representative from each dorm makes up the First Year Honor Association. These students voice the opinion and concerns of the first-year class to the Honor Committee. With the help of the Honor Educators, the first-year representatives periodically conduct dorm discussion to keep students up to date with changes in the System and to gather student opinion.

To encourage continued awareness of the Honor System, the Honor Educators reach out to the Contracted Independent Organizations around Grounds. A representative from each organization is asked to attend workshops with Honor Educators to receive a heightened understanding of the Honor System. The representatives lead discussions on the Honor system within their organization, and they aid in fostering debate on the logistics and philosophies of the system within the University community.

Although the System remains completely student run, Honor Educators must keep the faculty abreast of changes in the system in light of the integral part faculty members play in the University community. Educators are assigned to academic departments and keep faculty informed through periodic meetings and mailings.

To keep the Honor System in the forefront of student concerns, the Honor Educators lead forums about current issues. Such forums, conducted in public meeting rooms, bring the System in close touch with students. Educators also promote an understanding of the Honor System by conferring with the athletic teams and with the various ethnic and cultural groups at the University.

Honor Services

Honor Services staff primarily assist the Community Relations Committee with administration of the Committee's day-to-day affairs. Yet, another responsibility of the Services staff is to make sure that students fully enjoy the rights and benefits that spring from having an Honor System at the University of Virginia. Services staff actively watch for violations of the trust that University students should be afforded under the Honor System. Members of the community of trust are encouraged to keep the Services staff actively appraised of the status of student privileges as members of this unique community.

Support Staff

Special Assistant to the Honor Committee

As the University continues to expand, both in attendance and in administrative processes, the Honor Committee and its support officers have come to recognize the importance of having a full-time assistant. Katie Mitchell currently serves as the Special Assistant to the Honor Committee. Katie graduated from the University of Virginia with a Bachelor's degree in 2010, and with a Master of Education in Student Affairs in 2011. Prior to becoming the Special Assistant, Katie worked as the undergraduate and graduate intern in the Office of the Dean of Students. She is responsible for case management, compiling Committee statistics, office administration, general public relations, and a variety of other tasks. In addition, she also serves as a valuable link between the Committee and Support Officers and from one year's Committee to the next. Katie can be reached by phone at (434) 924-7438 or via e-mail at katiemitchell@virginia.edu.

Executive Secretary to the Honor and Judiciary Committees

The Honor Committee is fortunate to have Mary White as a member of their support staff. Mary also works for the Judiciary and Mediations Committees and is often a community member's first contact with the Honor or Judiciary systems. Mary has worked for the University of Virginia for many years, specifically in the Newcomb Hall Accounting Office, and she joined the Honor and Judiciary staff in the summer of 2001. To reach Mary you can call (434) 924-7602 or e-mail mtw8z@virginia.edu.