The athletics department and the Women’s and Gender Resource Center cohosted a talk by Dr. Ellen Staurowsky regarding Title IX and athletics the day after the administration announced the hire of a new full-time Title IX coordinator.

Staurowsky spoke of the history of Title IX as well as its application to athletes.  She also discussed how Title IX continues to be of “importance to achieving equity in athletics,” according to Head Women’s Lacrosse Coach and Senior Woman Administrator Kim Masimore. Staurowsky’s talk came one day after the reveal of Dickinson’s new full-time Title IX coordinator, Katharina Matic. The announcement was made by Vice President for Institutional Effectiveness and Inclusivity Brenda Bretz and Vice President and Dean of Student Life Joyce Bylander in an email on Friday, Feb. 9.

According to Director of the Women’s and Gender Resource Center Donna Bickford “Staurowsky’s talk was open to the entire campus but was targeted to female athletes.”  She continued: “It’s important for everyone to understand what Title IX is, how it works, and the continuing challenges in achieving gender equity in higher education. Too many people think that we have achieved equality simply because more women than men are enrolled in higher [education] across the country. Title IX continues to be a necessary law in responding to gender and sex discrimination in all aspects of higher education.”

“There are a lot of misnomers about Title IX and I think Dr. Staurowsky was able to provide a lot of clarification for our students,” explained Masimore.

Andi Rosenblatt ’20 confirmed Masimore’s thoughts, saying Straurowsky’s talk “made me realize that, although we have progressed since the 1970s, we still have a long way to go. It brought to our attention that the distribution of money in a lot of college athletic departments around the country is still unevenly allocated.” Although Rosenblatt thought the presentation “was very informative…it would have been even more successful if any of the men’s athletic teams were present.”

Senior Associate Athletic Director Joel Quattrone commented that “Title IX has been a topic of discussion in athletics on a regular basis for quite some time. We believed it was important to educate our student-athletes on the history of the federal law, and the many factors that are used to determine if an institution is in compliance.” He continued, “It is important for people to have an understanding of Title IX and how it relates educational programs, and for us specifically, the athletic programs at the college.”

Dr. Ellen Staurowsky is, according to Drexel University’s website, “an internationally recognized expert on social justice issues in sport, including college athletes’ rights, gender equity and Title IX, and the misappropriation of American Indian imagery.”

Masimore described Staurowsky in an email as  “co-author of the book, College Athletes for Hire: The Evolution and Legacy of the NCAA Amateur Myth, editor of the forthcoming Women in Sport: Continuing a Journey of Liberation and Celebration, among other influential publications.”

Staurowsky spoke on Thursday, Feb. 8.