By: Victor Dixon, A&E Editor
Newman’s designated Title IX Coordinator position is currently vacant, but what does that mean for students?
The university’s previous coordinator Kate Bussell left the job around a month ago for a position at a different organization, and while all institutions that receive federal funding are required to have a Title IX coordinator, matters that involve Title IX are still being dealt with while Newman looks for a replacement.
“University leadership can appoint somebody and say, ‘We’d like you to have this responsibility,’” said Dean of Students Andi Giesen. “There are some organizations that are large enough where those would be a position, but in a smaller organization such as Newman University, the responsibilities of it can be kind of farmed out.”
Every organization receiving funding from the government is required by law to have a designated Title IX coordinator, whose job is to ensure that the organization is compliant with Title IX and to oversee investigations of complaints related to that law, which is intended to prohibit discrimination in education programs that receive federal aid.
The process for hiring a new coordinator is just like that for any other job; searching for people who have the correct qualifications and interviewing candidates until the right one is found. However, it could take months, Giesen said.
While the position is vacant, Title IX issues will not necessarily be handled any differently than they were when the position was filled. Any complaints can be directed to a faculty member, Giesen said.
“They can contact me. They can contact Dr. (Jill) Fort. They can contact HR. And the information would go to whoever they deem it necessary to go to” Giesen said. “Just because that position is not filled doesn’t mean those things are undone. It just doesn’t get done by one person.”
Students can also submit a complaint through the Student Affairs section of Newman’s website.
PHOTO: Courtesy photo, Unsplash
