Doctoral Dissertation Research: Title IX in American Universities

Yale University, New Haven CT

Investigators

Abstract

Over 100 colleges and universities are currently under investigation by the U.S. Department of Education for violating Title IX on the allegation that they have mishandled sexual harassment and assault. Yet until recently, sexual harassment and assault were largely absent from Title IX compliance programs, which instead focused on gender equity in athletics. This is a striking change with major implications for schools, especially universities. Why did the implementation of Title IX shift from an emphasis on sports to sexual harassment? By assessing this question, this project will illuminate the changing university as well as the complex relationship among social, political, and legal structures. We develop a three-step explanation: first, we demonstrate how the law has been applied over time and in distinctive organizational settings; next, we assess how social movements, the professions, and local organizational factors contributed to the change in Title IX's implementation in universities; finally, we examine the political dynamics of legal implementation as they unfold among and within multiple organizations. We conduct a comparative historical analysis of three different kinds of data: 1) a unique database that I have constructed of all postsecondary-level Title IX complaints filed with the Office of Civil Rights from 1994 to 2014; 2) all lawsuits filed under Title IX against postsecondary institutions from 1972 to 2014 with Notes of Decision; and 3) case studies that examine the law's contested application in four universities. This research will make theoretical and empirical contributions to sociological knowledge of law, organizations, gender, and social policy.