Ursuline empowers women leaders through Title IX awareness campaign

Thanks to a grant from the Ohio Department of Higher Education (ODHE), Ursuline College is launching an awareness campaign to educate the college community about Title IX, a federal law requiring equal educational opportunities and prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex.

Ursuline’s Know Your Rights: It's About IX campaign will focus on educating and empowering women leaders with an understanding of how Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972 promotes equal opportunity in educational programs and activities, prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, and requires all colleges to have Title IX policies.

“The Know Your Rights campaign is about developing women leaders,” said Deborah Kamat. Ursuline’s director of compliance and Title IX coordinator. “The campaign will link our already robust, women's focused programming with common messaging about Title IX and enable us to unify and expand our programs for developing student leaders. In turn, these students will proactively prevent and address issues of discrimination and sexual violence, whether they arise in the workplace, on campus, or in the larger community. This focus is in keeping with the College’s tradition of valuing the worth and dignity of every individual.”

The College developed a logo and will be using social media, campus events, guest speakers and pop-up theater to educate and empower students.

In July, ODHE released results of its Changing Campus Culture survey, which collected data from private and public campuses in order to determine the next steps to end sexual violence. Ursuline surpassed private and public college averages on all 13 questions included in survey.

“We have long known that we have a very safe campus and responsive faculty and staff members. These results certainly reaffirm that,” said President Sister Christine De Vinne, OSU, Ph.D.

To read about the ODHU Changing Campus Culture survey, click here.

To keep up with the campaign on social media, follow Ursuline College on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram with #ItsAboutIX.