Title IX at 50: Distinguished Springfield Professor of Humanics
Letter from the Distinguished Springfield Professor of Humanics
Aug. 9, 2022
Dear Springfield College Community,
I hope this email finds you well, and that you are enjoying summer. This academic year, I will be humbly serving as the Distinguished Springfield Professor of Humanics (DSPH). I’m excited and honored to continue this proud tradition of preserving our guiding Humanics philosophy and examining its implications through a perspective of my choice, just as past Distinguished Professors have so powerfully done before me.
On June 23, 2022, the nation celebrated the 50th anniversary of the signing of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. My project, titled Title IX at 50: Educate & Advocate, will focus on educating our College and the greater community about this important civil rights law that provides access and equality in education to all. A second component of my project will be to encourage the community to advocate for the preservation and strengthening of this important law.
With the support of a group of campus and community members I recruited to serve on my DSPH Team, I plan to provide numerous educational events that will intertwine with the programming offered throughout the year by the Title IX Commemoration Steering Committee and the Office of Non-discrimination Initiatives at Springfield College. I also hope to encourage the campus community to get involved in my project's educate and advocate components!
To educate about Title IX, I will host a series of events and provide information, including:
- Webcasts: Dropped on the 9th of every month from September to April will be interviews conducted with a diverse group of individuals (e.g., expert/historian, researcher, sexual assault victim, students, former coach, athletic directors, and a/our Title IX coordinator). Interviewees will provide educational information, tell a personal story about how Title IX impacted them, and share one piece of advice on how to advocate for Title IX. The first webcast, to be aired Sept. 9, will feature me sharing my personal Title IX story as former Springfield College Head Softball Coach.
- Social Media and the College Website: Information can be found with regard to Title IX events, photos, archives, and resources. Please consider following us on Facebook (@SCTitleIX) and Instagram (@SCTitleIX) and regularly checking our website, Celebrating Opportunities at Springfield College Title IX at 50.
- Articles and Stories: Page nine of every edition of The Springfield Student newspaper will feature stories, Title IX factoids, archival content, and historical timelines.
- Reading Trail: Lawn signs placed throughout campus will highlight Title IX information.
- Golf Cart Rides: Similar to "Cash Cab," I will give students a ride to class while asking questions about Title IX for the opportunity to earn prizes! More details to come.
Title IX impacts many, if not all, academic programs offered by Springfield College. Thus, another opportunity to educate involves the support of our faculty. I respectfully invite faculty to link Title IX to their curricula, if they don’t already do so, to help educate our students. My graduate-level course, PHED 670: Supervision and Mentoring, will include discussion on Title IX and its impact on athletics and physical education. I also will require the students to complete an opinion/reflective paper on how Title IX will or has impacted them professionally, including sharing what they plan to do to educate, comply, or advocate for Title IX in their future roles as supervisors or mentors. I have provided Title IX resource materials that you may find helpful. This resource will be continuously updated. I encourage faculty who add Title IX content to their course(s) to contact me via email (kmangano@springfield.edu) to provide a brief description (visual/written) of what you did, and I will send you a Title IX T-shirt while supplies last!
Regarding the advocate component of the project, I welcome members of the Springfield College community to create an advocacy project to help educate, secure, and/or strengthen Title IX. Please email me (kmangano@springfield.edu) for a link to the Title IX Advocacy Project Registration form to sign up and for details. The advocacy project can be completed individually, in small groups, as a class assignment, as an athletic team, or by organizations and clubs, etc. All who register to complete a project will receive a Title IX T-shirt while supplies last! In addition, students who have completed their 300-level Wellness & Physical Literacy course, will be able to earn a Wellness Passport stamp(s). The submission form will be sent to eligible students. The deadline for registration is Jan. 15, 2023. Lastly, I will be hosting a Title IX Advocacy in Action Event on Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023, from 7-9 p.m. in the Cleveland E. and Phyllis B. Dodge Room of the Campus Union for people to showcase their projects! All are welcome. Mark your calendars!
I look forward to continuing our year-long celebration of this important anniversary. I welcome you to join me in the celebration by engaging in actions that educate and advocate for Title IX, both within and beyond our campus community. And, beyond this year, engage in strengthening our campus culture of expressing appreciation for others, kindheartedly embracing an inclusive culture, inviting dissent, and helping to support and preserve the understanding of--and the sense of pride in—our distinctive Humanics philosophy.
Thank you in advance, especially to my DSPH Team for their counsel and assistance! Please reach out to me with questions or comments.
Yours in Humanics,
Kathy Mangano '86, G'88, EdD
Professor of Physical Education
Distinguished Springfield Professor of Humanics
Influential Advocates for Title IX
Patsy Takemoto Mink (1927-2002)
Patsy Mink was the first woman of color elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Hawaii, which became a state in 1959. She was the first Asian American woman to serve in Congress. In addition to writing bills such as Title IX, the Early Childhood Education Act, and the Women's Educational Equity Act, Mink was the first Asian American to run for U.S. president. Read more on the History, Art & Archives Web page and the National Women’s History Museum Web page.
Edith Starrett Green (1919-1987)
Elected in 1954 and considered the mother of Title IX, U.S. Rep. Edith Green (D-Oregon), was a powerful advocate for education, as well as for equal pay and opportunities for women. Green held landmark 1970 hearings that became the legislative foundation for Title IX. As Green’s junior colleague from Hawaii, Patsy Mink, said on Title IX’s 25th anniversary: “The origins of Title IX began in a series of hearings on sex discrimination … led by Congresswoman Edith Green, who was chair of the Special Subcommittee on Education.” Read more on the History, Art & Archives Web page and the Woman’s National Democratic Club Web page.
Birch Evans Bayh (1928-2019)
U.S. Sen. Birch Bayh (D-Indiana) was a primary champion of Title IX, and drafted the language for this landmark federal legislation. Additionally, he was a chief sponsor in the Senate of the failed Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), which would have provided Constitutional protections against sex-based discrimination had it passed. He also was the architect of two significant constitutional amendments: the 25th, which addresses presidential disability and vice presidential vacancies; and the 26th, which gave 18 year olds the right to vote in federal and state elections. Read more on the NCAA Web page.
Bernice Resnick Sandler (1928-2019)
Known as the “Godmother of Title IX,” Bernice Sandler, EdD, fought for women’s rights in education. She was the educational specialist for the House of Representatives Special Subcommittee on Education. She soon wrote the first federal policy report in education about discrimination based on gender. In 1972, her hard work resulted in the Title IX Educational Amendment. Read more on the National Women’s History Museum Web page.
Edward M. “Ted” Kennedy (1932-2009)
The impact of Sen. Ted Kennedy on Title IX was significant, and his role as a powerful member of the U.S. Senate helped see to its passage, and then to keep the bill strong in ensuing years. Kennedy was a key supporter of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, and, following its passage, used his leadership role in the Senate to fight efforts throughout the years to amend the law, to limit its enforcement, as well as to thwart other attempts to overturn or weaken the legislation. He became the chief force behind the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987, which virtually re-enacted Title IX after a devastating, narrow Supreme Court decision, which among other results removed Title IX coverage from all intercollegiate athletics in this country. Read more on espn.com.
DID YOU KNOW? Sen. Kennedy received an honorary Doctor of Humanics from Springfield College and was its Commencement speaker in 2006. His brother, John F. Kennedy, received an honorary Doctor of Laws from Springfield College and was its Commencement speaker in 1956.
