Skip to main content
You are the owner of this article.
Edit Article Add New Article
You have permission to edit this article.
Edit

LATEST

ALERT

Weather Alert

...HEAT ADVISORY FOR SATURDAY HAS EXPIRED...
...HEAT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM NOON TO 8 PM CDT SUNDAY...

* WHAT...Heat index values up to 108 expected.

* WHERE...Portions of central, east central, northern, northwest,
southeast, southern, southwest, and western Oklahoma and northern
Texas.

* WHEN...From noon to 8 PM CDT Sunday.

* IMPACTS...Hot temperatures and high humidity may cause heat
illnesses.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of
the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors.

&&
Alert

Head of OU Title IX Office Bobby Mason resigned in April, regents agenda shows

Bobby Mason

Bobby Mason, Title IX Coordinator and University Equal Opportunity Officer, poses for a photo Aug. 8.

 Kathryn Stacy/The Daily

OU's Title IX coordinator Bobby Mason resigned from his position on April 6, according to the agenda for the upcoming Board of Regents meeting. 

Mason has accepted a position as Texas State University's first ever chief compliance officer, according to Texas State's student newspaper. Mason had worked with the university for over 13 years, and he had served as Title IX coordinator and institutional equity officer since 2015. Before that, Mason had served as OU's Office of Compliance director since 2007. 

OU spokesperson Kesha Keith said mason would continue working with the university while a new Title IX coordinator is hired. 

"Mr. Mason accepted a compliance position at a university in Texas," Keith said. "He has graciously agreed to continue assisting OU during a transitional period as the University searches for his replacement."

Before his resignation, Mason was the head of the Office of Institutional Equity, which is tasked with addressing gender discrimination on campus, as well as OU's Title IX office, which handles sexual misconduct and harassment claims. 

The Title IX Office has been criticized in recent years under Mason's leadership over the office's response to issues of sexual misconduct on campus. The Daily has reported on multiple instances in which OU students who made claims to Title IX felt as though they were not fully informed on the investigation as it progressed. 

In September 2019, the university announced the Title IX office would be making a number of changes as a result of Mason's recommendations to interim President Joseph Harroz to improve the office's ability to handle claims of discrimination and sexual misconduct.

Though Mason's resignation became effective on April 6, according to the May Board of Regents meeting agenda, the university did not make a public announcement of his departure until May 7. 

Keith said Faustina Layne will serve as interim institutional equity officer and Title IX coordinator while Mason's replacement is found. 

OU Daily standards

See an error? Earning trust is our duty. We correct errors atop stories. Identify an error, request a takedown or get in touch.

Independent and free since 1916: OU is committed to our editorial independence. You can help ensure our reporting remains strong and accessible to all invested in OU and Norman.

Want to comment? We value dialogue on issues we cover. On our social media accounts, we moderate disparagements, arguments and attacks, including those directed at our staff — and ban those repeatedly failing civility. The editor considers guest column submissions.