As part of its continued efforts to prevent, address and respond to sexual misconduct in the campus community, Michigan State University has hired the first director of its Office of Institutional Equity as well as a new Title IX and Americans With Disabilities Act coordinator.
Ande Durojaiye will be leading the OIE office, created in April to handle all discrimination complaints, including sexual assault and relationship violence. He is transitioning to MSU now in a part-time role and will start full time Nov. 30.
In addition to overseeing the office that investigates complaints made under the university’s anti-discrimination policies, including Title IX, he will ensure MSU is in compliance with all applicable discrimination laws, regulations, policies and procedures.
Jessica Norris will start Dec. 28 as the university’s new coordinator for Title IX and the Americans With Disabilities Act. She will be responsible for the leadership and oversight of university programs and initiatives designed to create and maintain a campus culture free of gender discrimination, sexual harassment and violence, and disability discrimination.
“Ande and Jessica bring deep knowledge and strong commitment to these critical positions,” President Lou Anna K. Simon said. “We will continue to assess where we are and where we want to be, and these additions to the MSU team will boost our capacity to address the issues of sexual assault and of discrimination in its many forms."
Prior to joining MSU, Durojaiye served as the executive director of Equity, Inclusion and Compliance and Title IX coordinator at Florida Atlantic University, where he was tasked with leading all university initiatives related to equity, inclusion and civil rights compliance. Previously, he worked as an attorney with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. He earned a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center, a master’s degree of higher education from Loyola University Chicago and a bachelor’s degree from Tennessee State University. He is currently pursuing a doctorate of Higher Education Leadership from Vanderbilt University.
Before agreeing to join MSU, Norris worked in the Office of Equal Opportunity, Ethics and Access at Illinois State University for eight years, serving most recently as associate director, deputy Title IX coordinator and affirmative action officer. She received a bachelor’s degree from Northern Illinois University and a master’s in education from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.