Education, keeping Title IX student and faculty centered and ensuring that the process and program are uniform for all that it affects were the three key points that Elizabeth Oliver spoke about Monday during the presentation portion of her Title IX Coordinator interview.
Oliver is an Ottawa, Kansas based attorney, who holds five degrees from several Kansas colleges, including two masters from Emporia State. She has previously served as a state auditor and a guardian ad litem for domestic and child in care cases, which has given her experience with confidential documents, investigations and unbiased cases, Oliver said.
A Title IX Coordinator has to be student and faculty centered, according to Oliver. That includes creating presentations for training, meeting with people and remaining impartial in investigations, Oliver said.
“I think it’s creating an atmosphere of equality and uniformity in Title IX investigations,” Oliver said. “It’s setting up presentations for students, faculty, who need to know ‘what does Title IX do for me, what are my options beyond Title IX, do I want to use Title IX or do I want to use something else?’”
Each investigation is handled based on its facts, which makes each investigation different, but a standard must followed, Oliver said.
“There’s also a standard in how we just do things and that’s why I like Emporia State University, that why I’ve chose this university twice for a degree, there’s a standard of how we do things,” Oliver said. “There’s a standard of expectations and a standard of listening.”
Gary Wyatt, associate provost, asked how Oliver would use education to help students combat wrong expectations that they might have about Title IX and the process.
Oliver said that she would like to have a pamphlet that would detail the process, include advising options, describe the coordinator’s role and set expectations.
Although Oliver said that a coordinator must remain impartial, and maintain a level of professionalism with students, compassion is an important quality in the position.
“There’s a compassion for the victim, there’s a compassion for the situation and there’s a compassion for the defendant,” Oliver said. “When I was leaving the…I went to talk to the judges and I said ‘give me advice, what should I do differently?’ and one judge’s comment has stayed with me for the rest of my career. It was ‘understand that there’s two sides to a story.’”
Jerald Spotswood, dean of the graduate school and dean of distance education, asked Oliver to speak about what role the Title IX Coordinator should serve in educating faculty, staff and student.
Trainings should be altered to where students and faculty understand the options available for them and the potential consequences, according Oliver.
“I’d like Title IX for students to be not scary,” Oliver said.
Learning about Title IX, warning students and faculty and helping them understand it is important for educating about the process and how it works, Oliver said. If faculty understand, then they are better able to help keep students safe, according to Oliver.
