I am writing to provide the community with additional
information regarding the investigation of a complaint filed
against Gavilan College by the United States Department of
Education, Office of Civil Rights (OCR). There have been a number
of informative stories publish in this paper about the issue of
Title IX and women’s athletic activities at Gavilan College. I’d
like to restate a few important points and provide a comprehensive
summary of facts for the benefit of readers.
I am writing to provide the community with additional information regarding the investigation of a complaint filed against Gavilan College by the United States Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights (OCR). There have been a number of informative stories publish in this paper about the issue of Title IX and women’s athletic activities at Gavilan College. I’d like to restate a few important points and provide a comprehensive summary of facts for the benefit of readers.
First of all, Gavilan College officials recently made public a letter from the Office of Civil Rights indicating that a complaint had been filed against the college. This letter, a public document, indicates that the complaint was filed by women’s softball coach Tim Kenworthy on March 14, 2005. In his complaint, Kenworthy alleged Title IX violations: Specifically, unequal facilities for baseball and women’s softball. (It should be noted that women may participate in baseball if they so choose.) He further complained that he had been denied tenure (permanent employment) because he had spoken out on Title IX issues. It is true that he was not among the 13 faculty members offered tenure by the Board of Trustees when they met on March 8.
Title IX is a federal law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in educational institutions. A college athletics program must meet one of three standards to show that there are sufficient opportunities for participation by both male and female athletes. I believe that Gavilan College meets the requirement of showing “a history and continuing practice of program expansion for the underrepresented sex.” Since the 2000 season, when no women’s teams competed, Gavilan College has been dedicated to rebuilding the women’s athletics programs for our community. We have made a persistent effort to improve women’s athletics and much has been accomplished over the past five years. Improvements have been reported and documented in numerous stories in this and other local papers.
An article by Ana Patejdl last month described some of the actions that have been taken. For those who missed it: In 2001 the Board of Trustees created the position of full-time Athletic Director, dedicated to revitalizing athletics programs, and specifically to rebuilding women’s sports. The full-time women’s coaching position in softball was also added. In 2002 Gavilan College began an external fund raising effort for women’s sports and increased budgets for women’s teams. In 2003 the athletics department increased stipends for all coaches and equalized stipends across all sports. Additional assistant coaches were allocated for women’s sports. With the help of the community and coaches, improvements were made to the women’s softball facility, and we started work on the Gavilan College Gender Equity Plan. In 2004, we repaired and improved the women’s soccer field, bringing it up to collegiate play standards. A training day for all staff included a workshop on Title IX. Although the 2004 softball season had to be canceled, the program was not canceled, and the team returned for a strong season in 2005. Similarly, although the women’s basketball team sat out the 2004 season, the program was not canceled and we expect a strong return in the fall.
Most exciting for 2005 will be the return of the women’s volleyball team. We will also see a new outfield fence and scoreboard for the women’s softball field. In order to make improvements to the softball field, we recently negotiated an end to the joint use agreement for the Gavilan College athletics complex with the City of Gilroy. The joint use agreement has limited our ability, to this point, to bring the field up to desired collegiate play standards (although the facility does already have lights, a second softball field, and enclosed batting cages). Starting in August, Gavilan will have control of the fields.
We welcome the opportunity to tell “our side” to the Office of Civil Rights, as we believe we have accomplished much good and have made significant efforts to increase opportunities for women athletes at Gavilan College. Furthermore, we have faith that the tenure process provides a fair consideration of faculty members through four years of evaluations by students, other faculty members, administrators, and the employee’s supervisor. We are proud of the 13 faculty members who met the rigorous requirements and were offered tenure on March 8.
The details of individuals’ tenure review files are protected by state confidentiality laws and the faculty union contract. In the course of the federal Title IX review, it is possible that some parts of Mr. Kenworthy’s evaluations may become public information, but we are prohibited by law from discussing them unless and until that happens. As the OCR investigation progresses, we will remain diligent in keeping the public informed, and in following the laws of the State of California and the United States. In the meantime, we thank the community for their support of women’s athletics.
