OU will start a search to find an executive director of the Office of Equity and Civil Rights Compliance and the Office of Equal Opportunity and Accessibility in late fall 2015.
Ohio University’s Title IX Coordinator Inya Baiye resigned from her position Nov. 4 after accepting a position at a different institution, according to a university email sent Wednesday.
The Provost’s Office will start a search to find an executive director of the Office of Equity and Civil Rights Compliance and the Office of Equal Opportunity and Accessibility in late fall 2015, according to the email.
Until the position is filled, Nicholas Oleksy, a Title IX investigator in the Office of Equity and Civil Rights Compliance, will take on the role of Acting Title IX Coordinator for the student process, according to the email.
Assistant Director of Civil Rights Compliance Jessica Cook will take over the administrative leadership of the office and will also serve as Interim Title IX Coordinator for employee and university programs.
During this transition, Assistant Director Kerri Griffin will support the compliance office with discrimination and harassment cases, and Dianne Bouvier, director of the Office of Equal Opportunity and Accessibility and ADA/504coordinator, will provide consultation, according to the email.
The Title IX legislation was signed into law in 1972 and prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex at educational institutions receiving financial assistance. OU and other universities are required to assign at least one employee to serve as Title IX Coordinator.
“(Title IX) serves an important role in ensuring equitable facilities and programs, prevention and appropriate response to hostile environments, and remediation of sexual violence and other forms of sex and gender-based discrimination in educational settings,” the email reads.
The Office for Institutional Equity reorganized July 1 when it split into two offices that address “specialized areas”: the Office of Equity and Civil Rights Compliance and the Office for Equal Opportunity and Accessibility, according to OU’s website.
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