To honor the 50th anniversary of Title IX, and its co-author and advocate, University of Hawaiʻi alumna Patsy Takemoto Mink, UH is conducting a series of programs throughout spring 2022. The programs will celebrate, critique and challenge us to think about the importance of Title IX and its legacy through film screenings, panel discussions, and conversations with leading experts and advocates.
“The 50th anniversary of this landmark legislation, championed by Hawaiʻi’s own Patsy Mink, marks decades of hard-fought progress for girls and women in classrooms, on the court, and in leadership positions across the country,” said Jennifer Rose, director for the UH Office of Institutional Equity. “Over the last half century, Title IX has had incredible impacts on the ways that society at large not only treats girls in education, but approaches and condemns sexual harassment and sexual violence more broadly.”
To honor Mink’s profound and successful efforts to bring gender equity to education, Congress renamed Title IX as the Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act. The act states, “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”
With these words, and despite significant resistance, the Maui-born Mink changed the United States. This law transformed U.S. schools and universities by prohibiting educational institutions from receiving federal funds if they discriminated on the basis of gender in admissions, recruitment, financial aid, housing and athletics.
“From its inception, Hawaiʻi has been at the forefront of Title IX,” said Troy Andrade, an associate law professor at UH Mānoa’s William S. Richardson School of Law. “UH alumna Patsy Takemoto Mink—now the namesake of Title IX—was a co-author of the law and was its fiercest protector in Congress. Mink’s own barrier-breaking story and her persistence are so important for those in our community to remember as we carry forth her legacy of equity, opportunity and justice.”
Upcoming events:
- Litigating Title IX: A Conversation with Arthur H. Bryant, Esq. March 9, 12 p.m.
- Title IX in Higher Education March 31, 12 p.m.
UH commitment
The university remains committed to maintaining communities and campus environments free from sex discrimination and gender-based violence. Because of Title IX, today, the ratio of women law school graduates in the United States approaches 50%, and about one-third of American lawyers and judges are women.
- Related UH News story: UH reaffirms commitment to the Patsy Mink Act on 45th anniversary, June 27, 2017
“Under the principled leadership of David Lassner, we have maintained that UH is committed to upholding rights and protections within our university community,” said Jan Gouveia, UH System vice president for administration. “As we look forward to the next 50 years, we’re reminded that while much has been accomplished, there is still more work ahead. UH will continue to remain committed to future generations as the only provider of public higher education in Hawaiʻi. It is my hope that the underlying values championed within the spirit and intent of Title IX will bring about long-lasting change and a culture shift toward a future at UH free from all forms of gender-based violence and sexual harassment.”
More information about the Title IX spring 2022 programs and events will be available online.
