It has been 40 years since an amendment to the Civil Rights Act declared that institutions receiving federal funding cannot discriminate on the basis of gender in providing any educational program or activity. The legislation was known simply as “Title IX.”
“It has fundamentally and forever changed the landscape of women’s sports,” says Mary Jo Kane, director of the U’s Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport, a professor in the School of Kinesiology, and a leading authority on the landmark legislation. “Because of that, it should be considered one of the most successful pieces of civil rights legislation this country has ever known.”
In a UMNews feature story, Kane goes on to explain Title IX’s current significance: “For the first time ever, females grow up with a sense of entitlement to sports,” says Kane. “And parents, just as importantly, grow up with that sense of entitlement for their daughters.
To help celebrate the legislation’s anniversary, the Tucker Center will host “Title IX at 40: Changes, Challenges, and Champions,” for the Spring 2012 Distinguished Lecture on April 23, 7-9 p.m., at the Humphrey Center. The event includes several Title IX experts from across the country.