Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity seeks to hire Title IX case manager

OIED

BY SOFIA BARNETT UNIVERSITY NEWS EDITOR

This February, the University’s Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity began the search for a Title IX Case Manager, a new position within the Title IX Office. OIED has yet to make a hire from a national search, according to Title IX Coordinator Ebony Manning.

Manning emphasized that a top priority for the Title IX Case Manager will be to “respond to questions as appropriate (and) actively foster and maintain a climate that is supportive of Brown University community members.”

“We’ve asked campus partners to participate in the search committee (and) the candidates will participate in three rounds of interviews,” Manning said.

According to Vice president for Institutional Equity and Diversity Sylvia Carey-Butler, the new position emerged in light of a recent opening for OIED’s administrative coordinator position.

“We had our administrative coordinator position in Title IX, and she took a position across the campus in another area,” she said. That administrative coordinator was responsible for overseeing Title IX casework.

“That was an absolutely wonderful time for us to think about, ‘What are the needs of the office that could support the work of Title IX?’”

Carey-Butler noted that the position’s development did not result from an increase in Title IX cases, but rather the culmination of conversations regarding how OIED can best implement its goals on campus. Formalizing a case worker position, she explained, offered an opportunity for OIED to enhance the services it provides through the Title IX Office.

“It’s not new money,” she said. “It’s just reimagining the position.”

Manning explained that the case manager will “serve as one of several entry points at which community members and guests of the University can report or seek information on … Title IX policies and procedures.”

“This person will work closely, on a case-by-case basis, with campus partners and the Title IX coordinator to develop and implement training programs and informational materials for faculty, staff and students,” she said.

The case manager will be a resource for the University community to understand the reporting and adjudication processes related to “equal opportunity, non-discrimination, Title IX and other related topics,” Manning added.

“The responsibilities in that role will be very similar to the Administrative Coordinator in helping our Title IX Coordinator with the intake process (and) helping to assist with education, which will expand our bandwidth because it’s also now a professional-level position,” she said — as opposed to the coordinator role’s previous setup as an hourly position.

“What it really does is give more support, and that person would come with some expertise” to supplement the department’s current work, Carey-Butler added.

“Everyone in OIED is excited about this addition to the team and the campus community,” Manning said.

In a statement to The Herald, members of the student organization End Sexual Violence at Brown wrote that “a case manager will be helpful for students looking to engage in the Title IX Office’s processes to fully understand all their options and the implications of each stage and step taken.”

Members of the group compared the role to that of “Sexual Harm Acute Response and Empowerment advocates” in BWell — with more of a focus on the “administrative end of things.”

“Students have had very positive relationships and outcomes working closely with SHARE advocates,” ESV’s statement said. “And more support of that kind is always very welcome and extremely needed.”

Members of ESV also expressed in the statement their desire that the University “channel more resources into survivor-specific support,” writing that the Title IX Office should take measures such as expanding the number of “trained (and) available advisors to assist students throughout processes.”

In addition to its charitable component, Electric Hour often includes an interactive artists’ panel after performances. Noting how in typical music shows audiences usually have a “limited series of responses” to emotionally-charged performances, Emerson said that he wanted to increase audience engagement.

He added that “some of the coolest interactions that have happened through this program have been the audience asking questions in response” to songs.

The panel-style format of the show also allows performers to share pieces of their creative processes and artistic backgrounds. At an attendee’s request, Toth showed Monday’s audience a string of seashells that he shook while playing the drums during his and Major’s improvised jazz set.

Electric Hour’s characteristic Q&A sessions and active audience participation add to its mission of providing a welcoming atmosphere for music lovers, according to Emerson and Zohdy.

“It’s a place where musicians are encouraged to play music they’ve just come up with and things they’re (still) working on,” Zohdy said. “It encourages experimentation in that way.”

Jones, who performed the final act of Monday’s show with her band, appreciated the low-stakes environment at Electric Hour. “It offers a nice space for people who want to play and (those) whose music might not (necessarily) be their career path,” she said.

The most recent Electric Hour show was the first time Major and Toth had played on a stage together, and Major expressed gratitude at being able to showcase their collaboration.

“The big thing about the concert was (how it brought) all these people together,” he said. Inspired by Electric Hour, Major hopes to organize a series of “portable outdoor concerts” next semester to promote building connections with nature and the greater providence area.

Attendees said they enjoyed being able to celebrate their peers’ achievements and connect with others who are just as passionate about music. “It’s so cool that Chance has created this space because it’s really hard to find places to perform, especially if you’re an in- dependent songwriter,” said Mia Humphrey ’25.

Stella Biase ’25.5 said she similarly enjoyed “getting all the information about where the songs are from,” whether it was an original piece or a cover.

Emerson and Zohdy plan to continue hosting Electric Hour moving forward, with more shows and larger events in the works for the fall semester.

“It’s cool to have a casual space like this,” Emerson said. “The process of songwriting can be really mystifying, but I think having the ability to ask people and artists questions is special too.”