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The Dean of Students Office is currently undergoing a nation-wide search for a new Title IX Coordinator, to fill the gap created when Lisa Magnarelli was promoted to Director of College Events and Scheduling.
Ashley Place is acting as Interim Title IX coordinator. However, after speaking with a search committee, Dean of Students Terry Martinez has unearthed a few potential roadblocks in the process. She notes that, “Title IX Coordinators are difficult to recruit because the work is so complicated and very difficult. Title IX Coordinator positions typically last about 3 years. For individuals considering such a position, it is important for them to consider their own career path.” Candidates may be deterred from applying to a Title IX Coordinator position because the implies a constantly changing field and a rapid turnover rate with few opportunities for advancement.
Therefore, Dean Martinez has decided to make minor reforms to the position. “Because the skills necessary for coordinating the processes around sexual misconduct mirror those necessary for the coordination of a student conduct process, I have opted to move in the direction of the latter.”
Rather than hiring solely a Title IX Coordinator, she hopes to create a new position, which will be titled Director of Community Standards. This position will be able to support Jeff Landry in his work in student health and safety. She also noted that she expects potential candidates to come from work as either a community health educator or in the student conduct field. Additionally, she is hoping to find someone “who has experience in work around Title IX, judicial processes, and work in higher education.”
When searching for a candidate, Dean Martinez states, “my goal is to have this person support both processes and work with the community on understanding our policies and protocols.” Creating this new position allows her office to expand the Title IX Coordinator position and will encourage the new Director of Community Standards to engage with multiple areas of student conduct, beyond just sexual misconduct.
She mentioned she has invited representatives from the search firm to campus this week to meet with various community members and “gain an understanding of our campus, our community, and the perceptions around the Title IX position.”
She also notes that she expects to find someone outside the Hamilton community, as “[she is] not aware of anyone at the Hamilton who possesses the above experience with the exception of Lisa Magnarelli or Ashley Place, and both have indicated that they have no interest in the position.”
As such, it is vital that the search firm have a strong understanding of what the Hamilton community is looking for in a candidate, so that they may find someone who would understand our community and work to better the Hamilton campus.
