Former Baylor University Title IX coordinator Patty Crawford speaks out publicly for the first time. Days after her resignation, Crawford was on CBS This Morning for her first public talk. By Wednesday evening, Baylor announced an interim Title IX coordinator.
UPDATE: October 6th, 11:55 am
On Wednesday, Baylor announced Crawford's immediate replacement. In a press release Baylor University interim president David Garland announced Kristan Tucker as Baylor's new Title IX coordinator.
"Kristan has been an integral part of our efforts to build a strong and responsive Title IX Office, and she serves, alongside her staff members, on implementation teams focused on the recommendations from Pepper Hamilton," Garland said in a press release.
Less than 24 hours after Tucker's appointment was announced, Crawford took to Facebook to express her support for Tucker and the Title IX office. She also addressed her resignation and what she perceives as the problems that university administration had with her work.
"It's about a handful PEOPLE that actually run Baylor that hate that the work of the Title IX Office (not me, but the amazing team collectively making change) was EFFECTIVE. And that goes against a lot of the long-standing grain of the Baylor-way...and it's costing them MONEY. Two of their favorite things..the Baylor way and money," Crawford's Facebook post reads.
Original post has been updated to reflect changes:
Former Baylor Title IX Coordinator Patty Crawford told CBS This Morning that Baylor University set her up to fail from the beginning of her work in 2014.
“The harder I worked, the more resistance I received from senior leadership,” Crawford told the morning show hosts.
Crawford says that leadership was “protecting the brand, I believe, instead of our students.”
Baylor announced Crawford’s resignation late Monday night, saying the move was spurred by Crawford’s disappointment “in her role implementing recommendations made by Pepper Hamilton.”
"The University is grateful for Patty's leadership in establishing fair and equitable Title IX processes that are also supportive of the needs of survivors," the announcement read.
By Wednesday evening, Baylor University interim president David Garland announced Kristan Tucker as Baylor's new Title IX coordinator, effective immediately.
"Kristan has been an integral part of our efforts to build a strong and responsive Title IX Office, and she serves, alongside her staff members, on implementation teams focused on the recommendations from Pepper Hamilton," Garland said in a press release.
During Pepper Hamilton’s 9-month long independent review, the law firm found a fundamental failure in Baylor’s handling of sexual assault allegations. The group provided more than 100 recommendations for the university to improve its response to sexual assault. In her time, Crawford says, reports increased 700 percent, but that it was clear that was not something the university wanted.
“The issue is, I was trying to create compliance with Title IX, and I was trying to be hopeful that the university was going to listen. And the more I asked and the more I tried, the more resistance I received. I was being retaliated against for fighting discrimination.”
In a Facebook post on Thursday, Crawford elaborated on the days leading up to her resignation and the issues that university administration had with her work.
"It's about a handful PEOPLE that actually run Baylor that hate that the work of the Title IX Office (not me, but the amazing team collectively making change) was EFFECTIVE. And that goes against a lot of the long-standing grain of the Baylor-way...and it's costing them MONEY. Two of their favorite things..the Baylor way and money," Crawford's Facebook post reads.
Earlier in the week, media outlets reported that Baylor offered Crawford a $1.5 million settlement in response to the retaliation complaint she filed with the university’s human resources department. Local CBS affiliate KWTX reported Crawford declined a $50,000 confidentially agreement and her lawyer’s $2 million counter offer was refused by Baylor.
The university responded to the Waco Tribune-Herald queries about the media reports, saying Crawford’s “demand for 1 million dollars was surprising and her request to retain book and movie rights was troubling, and we can’t explain her motivation.”
On CBS This Morning Crawford’s lawyer, Rogee Dunn said Baylor’s comments on this week’s mediation are against Texas law.
“What they’ve done is violated Texas law,” Dunn told the morning show. “Believe me, there’s nothing I would rather tell you than what went on in that mediation, because it’s in favor of Patty. But the law says you can’t do that. We choose to follow the law, unlike Baylor University.”