Title IX job a tough gig
Jenny Dial Creech cites Patty Crawford’s perils while at Baylor.
There was bullying.
There were death threats.
Then someone went so far as to loosen the lug nuts on her car.
The days and weeks following Patty Crawford’s speaking out brought more than she could have imagined.
The former Baylor Title IX coordinator was doing the right thing, she reminded herself over and over. She was trying to bring change, trying to help victims, trying to do her part to end violence against women.
Crawford made headlines in October after she resigned from her position at Baylor, then spoke publicly about the challenges she faced at the school.
She spent 23 months at Baylor, trying to work on improving its Title IX policies and procedures. During her time there, the Pepper Hamilton summary was released, pointing out the school’s failures when it came to handling sexual assault.
On Saturday at the South Texas Law Center, Crawford — along with her lawyer Rogge Dunn — spoke to participants at a Law and the Media seminar about her experience at Baylor and the backlash she has faced since resigning.
Crawford arrived at Baylor as a complete outsider in November 2014. She came from Indiana University, had no connection to Baylor, Waco or Texas.
She was hired as the first full-time Title IX coordinator at Baylor.
She resigned last fall after filing a complaint with the Department of Education Office for Civil Rights.
Before resigning, her mediation with Baylor officials included the university offering her $1.5 million to sign a non- disclosure agreement.
Crawford turned down the money and immediately spoke to the media about how she thought she never had the resources, support or authority to properly do her job.
Crawford’s story is wellknown at this point.
Baylor’s response to her resigning and speaking was that she wanted rights for a movie or book deal.
Dunn explained that Crawford didn’t want to sign anything that would legally bind her to stay quiet, period.
There was a lot of he said, she said as Crawford and the school parted ways. Her name was back in the news last week when one of her former employees, Title IX investigator Gabrielle Lyons, backed up Crawford’s claims.
Delicate balance
Crawford’s situation brings an interesting dilemma to light — the role of a Title IX officer or coordinator on a campus.
It’s a complicated job for a number of reasons.
There’s the balance of being an employee of the university but also a watchdog and advocate for victims by making sure the federal regulations to protect them are followed.
Crawford said she felt stuck at times for the simplest reasons.
Baylor is an institution founded on Christian principles, so even speaking openly about sex was uncomfortable.
She recalled having to go into a room full of men — senior leadership at Baylor — and tell them their students were having sex, using drugs and alcohol and informing them she would need to be able to talk about those things to properly do her job.
For anyone in that position, this is true.
For a Title IX office to run properly, the employees in that office have to be able to openly discuss the issues happening on all college campuses.
Then they need to be able to explain in detail how everyone on campus should react and respond to instances.
In Crawford’s case, she claims to have received some pushback from senior leadership on those initiatives.
She had other issues there, too. She felt like the scapegoat at times, felt like she was pitted against the athletic department. She stressed that the issues at Baylor were not just in athletics, although those got the most publicity.
In her 23 months at Baylor, Crawford had 416 cases come across her desk. Some were sexual assault, others violence against women.
At a certain point, she thought she had to make the complaint to the Department of Education.
A tough but vital job
Crawford said she loved Baylor, and still does. She hopes for the best for the school.
The university is making changes, making strides and trying to reform after the findings by Pepper Hamilton. It’s not the only school that has these problems; sexual assault and gender violence are issues across campuses everywhere.
Crawford hopes her story, her speaking out, her trying to assist other Title IX offices will help while these issues continue to be widespread.
But she won’t go back to being a Title IX coordinator. The mother of three won’t put herself or her family in danger the way they were after she resigned from Baylor.
Other Title IX coordinators face similar situations — tough situations daily on the job.
It has become one of the hardest but also one of the most important jobs on campuses.