Virginia Tech marks 53rd anniversary of Title IX
Title IX, along with other civil rights laws, has helped to unlock access to educational and athletic opportunities across the country.
This summer will mark the 53rd anniversary of the passage of Title IX.
The federal civil rights law has been credited with profoundly changing education in the United States by barring sex discrimination in the nation’s schools. Title IX, along with other civil rights laws, helped to unlock access to educational and athletic opportunities, paving the way for inroads into historically male‐dominated professions.
In honor of the anniversary, Angela Catena, Virginia Tech Title IX coordinator, highlighted the landmark legislation from 1972 in just 53 words: "Title IX, now 53, is more than a law — it is a promise. It ensures no one faces discrimination based on sex in education. From classrooms to courts, sports to safety, Title IX fosters fairness, access, and opportunity. It’s about protecting rights, amplifying voices, and creating spaces where everyone can thrive and belong."
At Virginia Tech, the Office for Civil Rights Compliance and Prevention Education guides the university’s efforts to maintain working and learning environments that are free from discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. In addition to responding to reported incidents, the office's Title IX team offers a range of services, resources, and programs to students, employees, and departments across the university.
“Our team is proud to support the mission by working to address all forms of sex-based discrimination, including sexual harassment, sexual assault, and related forms of gender-based violence that may occur within our community,” Catena said.
History of Title IX
In the two years preceding the passing of Title IX, debates about discrimination against women and education were raging in Congress. During this era, U.S. Rep. Edith Green of Oregon, who held hearings in the House Education Committee, and Bernice Sandler of the Women's Equity Action League were two prominent women leading the movement for equality.
U.S. Sen. Birch Bayh was an advocate as well, and in 1971, he tried to make an amendment to the Education Act. However, Sen. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina raised an objection and asked for a parliamentary inquiry as to whether the amendment was germane.
The parliamentarian ruled that because sex was never mentioned in the Education Act, it wasn't germane, stalling the amendment. Undeterred, Bayh came back in 1972 and introduced the Title IX provision.
Through negotiations, the Equal Rights Amendment was passed in March 1972, sending it to the states for ratification, and Title IX later became law on June 23, 1972, with the Education Amendments. Green and U.S. Rep. Patsy Mink of Hawaii championed the Title IX legislation in the House.
Title IX specifically states, "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.”
“What you endure is who you are,” Mink was quoted as saying in a 2022 article. “I can’t change the past. But I can certainly help somebody else in the future, so they don’t have to go through what I did.”
After her death in 2002, Title IX was renamed the Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act.
What Title IX means
Though the impetus behind the enactment of Title IX was to enable women and girls to have equal access in admissions to institutions of higher education, programs within those institutions, and scholarships and other forms of financial aid, the law also reshaped access to athletic opportunities across the country, offering women and girls at all levels opportunities to participate in sports that they had not previously had.
“The act’s impact has been profound and continues to resonate in America,” said Kelly Oaks, associate vice president for civil rights and prevention education. “On this anniversary, we recommit to continuing the work that Title IX began more than 53 years ago; it is still the task of our time to build a democracy where every person is treated with dignity and has an equal opportunity to follow their dreams.”
Learn more about how the Office for Civil Rights Compliance and Prevention Education is working to make Virginia Tech an environment free from discrimination and harassment.
Fast facts
- Today, 44 percent of NCAA athletes are women, compared to 15 percent pre-Title IX.
- Title IX guarantees equal educational opportunity to pregnant and parenting students. This means that students, including student-athletes, cannot be discriminated against in the event of their pregnancy; and they must be offered reinstatement to the same position after pregnancy as they held before the onset of pregnancy.
- Title IX does not require quotas. A school can comply with Title IX by showing that it is trying to expand opportunities for female athletes or that it is accommodating the interests and abilities of female students at the school.
