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Melody Werner Returns to EMU University’s first full-time Title IX coordinator is familiar face
Melody Werner, who served 18 years as a top administrator in EMU’s Athletics Department, came out of retirement to become the University’s full-time Title IX coordinator. After a year-long national search, Werner assumed her new post in June 2015.
Here’s what you need to know:
TITLE IX ISN’T just about athletics. For a few decades, the Title IX portion of the U.S. Education Amendments of 1972 was used mainly to support equal treatment between male and female athletes. In 2011 the Offi ce of Civil Rights clarifi ed that sexual harassment and sexual violence also fall under Title IX because they are forms of discrimination.
TITLE IX IS a law that protects everyone. As Werner notes, “Everyone has the right to an educational environment that is free from sexual discrimination.”
ASSURING COMPLIANCE is an important part of Werner’s job. She aims to “develop systems to monitor our compliance with Title IX. That includes putting in place the means to act swiftly and eff ectively to help someone who has experienced any type of sexual discrimination.”
EDUCATION AND TRAINING is “huge” for Werner—making sure that everyone in the community understands their rights and their responsibilities. A fi ve-year education plan will enable her to reach everyone with online and in-person training.
WERNER BRINGS years of experience in education and
compliance, as well as a compassion for people, that makes her uniquely qualifi ed.
ONE-ON-ONE INTERACTION provides an opportunity for Werner to talk with people who have been involved in a sexual misconduct incident. In these meetings, she is able to help them sort out what options are available and also what remedial measures might be needed.
THE ULTIMATE SUCCESS, says Werner, would be “no more discrimination.” But, she adds, “I would see an increase in the reporting of sexual misconduct incidents as one measure of success. Title IX covers all of us—faculty, staff and students. My goal is that everyone will know how and where to report and that everyone will trust the process.” 3
— Darcy Gifford 14 Eastern | WINTER 2016
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