November 24, 2020
Dear OU Community,
At OU, our commitment to becoming a place of belonging for all strikes at the heart of everything we stand for as a community. Essential to our pursuit of this paramount virtue is our promise to foster a safe environment where all members of the OU family can thrive and feel respected. To help us build upon our momentum, I am pleased to announce that, pending approval by the OU Board of Regents, Shaniqua Crawford will join OU as Institutional Equity Officer, Equal Opportunity Officer, and Title IX Coordinator.
Shaniqua currently serves as Title IX Coordinator and as Director of Equity at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, and we will welcome her to our community on December 1, 2020.
Please join me in expressing our sincere gratitude to Faustina Layne, who has served as Interim Institutional Equity Officer, providing strong and steady leadership throughout our search process for this critical role.
We are grateful to the members of our search committee and other university community members – made up of students, faculty, staff, and administrators from all three campuses – for their earnest participation in the national search process.
In her new role at OU, Shaniqua will lead the Institutional Equity Office, overseeing the university’s affirmative action and equal opportunity compliance efforts, as well as investigating complaints of sexual misconduct, discrimination, and harassment.
At Lawrence, she has led the institution’s Title IX compliance efforts, developing partnerships across the university to position the office as a resource for all members of the campus community. Her work to establish trust in the Title IX Office was supported by her efforts to reinvigorate campus-wide participation in initiatives related to Title IX and diversity and inclusion.
During her career, Shaniqua also has helped implement diversity and inclusion strategies in recruitment and retention, strategic planning and accountability, and training and programming. While serving as Assistant Director of Equity and Inclusion at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, she developed affirmative action representative training for faculty and staff employment searches. At UW Oshkosh, she also served as Deputy Title IX Coordinator, initiating interactive equity training for staff and faculty.
Shaniqua earned a Bachelor of Arts in History and Philosophy from Georgia Southern University. She also attended Ohio Northern University Pettit College of Law, earning a Juris Doctorate.
Throughout her professional endeavors, Shaniqua has been an accessible, collaborative leader who approaches her role with professionalism and diligence. We look forward to working alongside her to build lasting change here at OU.
Please join me in welcoming Shaniqua to the OU family.
Live On, University,
Joseph Harroz, Jr.
President
