Criminal justice professor is newest Title IX officer

Southwestern College’s revolving door in the Title IX is spinning again, but President Dr. Kindred Murillo said she thinks the newest acting director will provide some much-needed stability.

Murillo appointed criminal justice professor Dr. David Caspi as Title IX officer following the quick appointment and even quicker departure of Trinda Best last summer.

Best, the former vice president of human resources, was appointed by Murillo in July to oversee sexual misconduct and gender discrimination investigations. Best was placed on leave before her duties could begin.  The college has had difficulty keeping an officer in place over the past decade and has had a series of people holding the position for short stretches of time.

A reason for Best’s leave of absence has not been provided. Best did not respond to requests for an interview.

Murillo also decided to separate student and employee responsibilities in the office of the director of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.

Director of EDI Dr. Guadalupe Corona will now focus on student diversity.

Corona said the separation is not a split, but a realignment of resources.

“I believe employees need as much support as the students,” she said. “The more training and support we offer our employees, the better they can serve our students.”

Murillo concurred. She said it is a goal of administration to have the ethnicities of employees mirror student demographics. Currently, the Latino student population is 49 percent and Latino employees are just 26 percent.

“We are really working with hiring and retaining diverse employees that match the demographics of the students,” Murillo said. “We still run a very white faculty and administration, but our students are mainly Latino.”

Student and employee equity was too much responsibility for one employee, Murillo said.

“Everything related to students stays under Dr. Corona,” Murillo said. “It’s a lot to put on one director. It’s an overwhelming task.”

Caspi is the most recent in a series of acting Title IX officers. His job description expands beyond SWC’s previous Title IX administrators. He is tasked to investigate gender discrimination and sexual misconduct as well as oversee employee diversity.

Caspi said he believes administration saw an overlap with the two departments.

“Creating a safe environment of inclusivity and diversity are all things that create a more stable and welcoming college campus,” he said.

Title IX is also experiencing changes at a national level. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos recently made amendments to weaken Title IX regulations and called Title IX a “failed system.” Moves by DeVos will make it more difficult for sexual assault victims, according to women’s rights advocates. Schools prosecuting sexual assault must move from a “preponderance of evidence” model to a “clear and convincing standard” of proof.

SWC has conducted a series of sexual misconduct investigations. Murillo said there has been 35 race-related or sexual misconduct investigations during her 10 months as president. Among those are an ongoing lawsuit against SWC’s Police Department filed by a former campus police student worker who charged three officers with numerous allegations of sexual misconduct. Sexual assault within the ASO is also under investigation.

Murillo said she is confident Caspi will perform his duties well.

Caspi has been a professor of criminal justice for six years, he said, and has a background in law and investigations. Caspi said his years of teaching have given him sensitivity to gender and discrimination issues.

“Teaching criminal justice involves issues where I have to discuss biases and discrimination based on gender,” he said. “The criminal justice system itself has inherit biases. Those are topics I’ve been teaching about for a long time.”

Caspi said the decision to leave some of his classes was like choosing between his children.

He will also serve as a member of Murillo’s Advisory Task Force on Inclusion and Race Relations.

“I’m super excited about this opportunity to have an impact on the college in a totally different way than I have as a faculty member,” he said. “This is an important issue. Anyone who’s been watching the news (on Harvey Weinstein) for the last few months knows that.”