MSU has hired a new Director for its recently created Office of Institutional Equity, as well as a Title IX and Americans with Disabilities Act coordinator.
Starting Nov. 30, Ande Durojaiye will lead the OIE office. The office was created in April and is tasked with handling all discrimination complaints, including sexual assault and relationship violence.
In addition to overseeing the office, which investigates complaints made under the university’s anti-discrimination policies, he will attempt to ensure MSU is in compliance with all federal regulation.
Jessica Norris will begin Dec. 28 as the university’s new coordinator for Title IX and the Americans With Disabilities Act. Norris will oversee campus programs designed to create a discrimination-free zone, including dealing with sexual harassment and violence.
Norris previously worked in the Office of Equal Opportunity, Ethics and Access at Illinois State University for eight years, serving most recently as associate director, deputy Title IX coordinator and affirmative action officer. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Northern Illinois University and a master’s in education from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
MSU's previous Title IX coordinator, Paulette Granberry Russell, had her office come under fire on the heels of a federal investigation which found MSU mishandles several sexual assault cases. In addition, a recent survey of students reported nearly 1 in 4 undergrads were sexually assaulted in their college careers.
“Ande and Jessica bring deep knowledge and strong commitment to these critical positions,” President Lou Anna K. Simon said in a statement. “We will continue to assess where we are and where we want to be, and these additions to the MSU team will boost our capacity to address the issues of sexual assault and of discrimination in its many forms."
Prior to joining MSU, Durojaiye served as the executive director of Equity, Inclusion and Compliance and Title IX coordinator at Florida Atlantic University, where he was tasked with leading all university initiatives related to equity, inclusion and civil rights compliance. Previously, he worked as an attorney with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights after earning a Georgetown University Law Center degree.
Durojaiye also holds a master’s degree of higher education from Loyola University Chicago and a bachelor’s degree from Tennessee State University, and is currently working to complete a doctorate of Higher Education Leadership from Vanderbilt University.
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