The search for a permanent vice president of the Office of Civil Rights & Title IX has not yet begun, and Jane Cassidy will remain in the role for at least one more academic year. 
“I’ll stay as long as they need me,” Cassidy said. 
The office is holding interviews to fill the Title IX coordinator position. Vice President of ATIXA Daniel Swinton is currently on campus serving as coordinator. Thursday is his last official day but he will stay on part-time until someone is hired. 
Cassidy said the only two individuals they are considering for Title IX coordinator are from outside the institution and have no ties to the university. 
“If we had someone on campus who could really do that well, we wouldn’t be in the trouble we’re in,” Cassidy said. 
Jennie Stewart, the previous Title IX coordinator, will remain as ADA coordinator and oversee disability claims. A Civil Rights Coordinator will be hired in the near future as well.
Once President Tate is settled in and ready to address the Title IX office, he will initiate a national search to fill Cassidy’s current role as vice president. Cassidy explained that while she’s passionate about righting the university’s wrongs in the Title IX office, her background is in academics, not administration, and she wants to step back so that someone more educated can fill the role.
“I’m a music educator,” Cassidy said. “At LSU we deserve to have someone who is leading civil rights and Title IX, who has a background in it, who really knows what the vision here should be. And that’s not me. I’m dedicated and I’m learning a lot, I’ve got good people that I ask questions. I’m well qualified to get things going, but to have a long term vision of it, we deserve to have someone who’s an expert leading that.”
Cassidy said that in her previous position at the LSU School of Music, she didn’t think much about Title IX because it never came to her attention. But now that it has, she’s realized how much LSU needs to take action.
“Once you start reading about this stuff and learning about it, you realize how important it is that our campus take care of our people,” Cassidy said.