Authors

Tricia Serio (Lead Author) is currently the Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Washington. At the time of writing the paper, Serio was the Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, as well as a professor of biochemistry and molecular biology. She previously served at UMass Amherst as Associate Chancellor for Strategic Academic Planning and Dean of the College of Natural Sciences. She has also held research and professorial positions at the University of Arizona (2012-2017), Brown University (2002-2012), and Yale University (2001-2002). Serio launched and led initiatives at UMass Amherst to increase DEI and belonging for faculty, staff, and students, which included direct support for students to improve retention and an equity action plan for faculty with an emphasis on workload. She also established initiatives to promote faculty scholarship and creative activity that focused on sustainability, healthy aging, society and technology, inclusive excellence, data science, and mid-career research leaves. Serio’s research focuses on the cellular regulation of self-perpetuating protein conformations in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and her scholarship has advanced understanding of severe neurodegenerative diseases in mammals and how to reverse them. She has earned numerous recognitions for her research, including being named a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Predoctoral Fellow, a Damon Runyon-Walter Winchell Cancer Research Postdoctoral Fellow, and a Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences. She also received the Howard Temin Award from the National Cancer Institute and the Mid-Career Award for Research Excellence from the American Society of Cell Biology, and she is an elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. After earning a bachelor’s degree in molecular biology at Lehigh University, Serio completed a master’s degree and Ph.D. in molecular biophysics and biochemistry at Yale in 1995 and 1997, respectively.

Ashley Blamey serves in a dual role as Title IX coordinator for the UT System and UTK. Serving in both capacities, Blamey facilitates critical communication between officials with UT System and all UT campuses. As system-level coordinator, Blamey is responsible for tracking best practices and legal developments; collaborating with other UT Title IX officials in policy evaluation and development; measuring program effectiveness; identifying optimal training, prevention and awareness-building efforts, and resources for implementation; and overseeing annual reporting on the frequency and nature of incidents and complaints. As UTK coordinator, Blamey is responsible for coordinating campus efforts to comply with and carry out Title IX responsibilities including promptly, thoroughly, and equitably investigating and resolving reports of prohibited conduct to eliminate prohibited conduct, prevent its recurrence, and remedy its effects. She joined UTK in 2008 as its inaugural student case management specialist. She has served the campus as the director for the Center for Health Education and

Wellness and assistant vice chancellor for student life. Under her leadership, UTK was awarded a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to develop best practices related to education about and prevention of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking. UTK continues to push the work forward as a current member of the NASPA Culture of Respect Collective. Blamey was one of the founding members and the first president of the Higher Education Case Managers Association. Blamey has a bachelor’s degree in special education from East Tennessee State University and both master’s and doctoral degrees in social work from UTK.

Laura Rugless has recently joined Michigan State University (MSU) as the Vice President for Civil Rights and Title IX Education and Compliance. In this role, Rugless will be responsible for leading the institution’s civil rights and Title IX compliance, serving as the university’s Title IX coordinator and building upon MSU’s efforts to cultivate a university community free of discrimination and harassment. The position will oversee the Office of Institutional Equity; the Prevention, Outreach and Education Department; the Resolution Office; the Office of Support and Equity; the equity review officer; and the Americans with Disabilities Act coordinator. During the writing of this paper, Rugless served as the Associate Vice President for the Office of Institutional Equity and Title IX (OIETIX) at Cornell University. In this role, she provided strategic vision and leadership to OIETIX, and administered and ensured compliance with the consensual relationships policy and the policy on prohibited bias, discrimination, harassment, and sexual and related misconduct. She also provided consultation related to civil rights compliance to campus partners and university officials. Rugless, an Army veteran, has spent much of her career in public service, with more than 15 years in higher education and state and federal compliance work. Prior to her time at Cornell, she was the executive director of equity and access services and Title IX coordinator at Virginia Commonwealth University. Rugless is a licensed attorney in Virginia, specializing in employment law and employment discrimination. She earned her bachelor’s degree and Juris Doctor from the College of William & Mary.

Vickie R. Sides is the Director for Education and Outreach at the University of Chicago’s Center for Awareness, Resolution, Education and Support (CARES). In this role, Sides is responsible for developing and administering comprehensive prevention, education, and training programs for the campus community. She provides consultation with campus partners on policy and program development related to sexual and relationship violence, and works collaboratively with campus partners in leading evidence-based prevention activities institution-wide, including bystander interventions, socioecological models of prevention, workshops, community programs, and awareness campaigns. In her previous role as Director of Resources for Sexual Violence Prevention, Sides used education, awareness and activism in service of preventing interpersonal harm and

creating a safer campus community. Sides received her master’s degree from DePaul University in social and cultural studies in education/human development.

Melissa Sortman is the Assistant Provost and Director of Faculty and Academic Staff Affairs at Michigan State University. Sortman serves as a strategic partner on the leadership team in the Office of the Provost developing and implementing strategic plans for the University, academic human resources policies, and negotiating academic labor contracts. She collaborates with leadership across the university to improve the organizational culture of the working and learning environment with college, school, department, and unit leaders across the university on all academic human resources-related functions for 5,700 faculty, academic staff, and executive management. Prior to joining Michigan State University, she worked at the University of Michigan as the Associate Director of Academic Human Resources. Sortman holds a B.A. in English and communications from Western Michigan University and an M.A. in higher, adult, and lifelong education from Michigan State University.

Hima Vatti is the Assistant Vice President for Equity and Title IX Coordinator at California Institute of Technology (Caltech), where she leads the Equity Team in fostering an academic, professional, and social environment that is safe and respectful, in compliance with Caltech’s anti-discrimination policies and procedures, including the Sex- and Gender-Based Misconduct Policy and related Sexual Misconduct Procedures for addressing complaints of sexual harassment, sexual violence, and other sexual misconduct. Prior to joining the Equity Office in 2019, Vatti had been an Associate General Counsel at Caltech since 2009, and has a history of working collaboratively across the Institute and of being a thoughtful and inclusive colleague. As an associate general counsel, Vatti counseled numerous campus and Jet Propulsion Laboratory teams and organizations to resolve equity, academic, and student issues, improve the fairness of policies and processes, and facilitate international scientific collaborations. Before joining Caltech, Vatti held several educational and public service positions, including at Cornell University and the U.S. Department of Justice, and served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Togo, West Africa. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Stanford University and a law degree from Harvard Law School.

Quinn Williams serves as the General Counsel for the UW System. With more than 16 years of legal experience, Williams has provided advice and counsel for a number of governmental institutions, including the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the Wisconsin Department of Administration, before joining the UW System as General Counsel in 2017. Williams is responsible for managing the UW System Office of General Counsel, which provides legal advice, representation, and support to the UW Board of Regents, UW System Administration, and 11 UW System institutions. Williams’ legal experience and counsel includes federal and administrative regulations applicable

to the operation of public agencies and institutions of higher education, including employment, Title IX, real estate, ethics, contracts and procurement, public records, open meetings, risk management, disability, and discrimination. Williams holds a B.A. from the UW-Madison and a J.D. from Marquette University Law School.