Title IX Coordinator

Feaunte Preyear is the new Title IX Coordinator at Life University (Life U), joining the Life U family on April 11, 2022. She has lived in Mobile, Alabama for the past 25 years and worked for the University of Southern Alabama for the past 15 years. Preyear is originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where she still has family, including her oldest daughter.

Preyear also has family still living in Mobile, which includes her middle daughter, eight-month-old granddaughter and her son. She decided that she was ready for a change in her career and her life in general, and Life U absolutely checked all the boxes that she was looking for.

“Everyone in the interviewing process was really nice, so it didn’t seem like an interview. It was more like a conversation with people whom I have known. I really loved the positive energy and the level of engagement,” said Preyear. She loved interviewing with Rebecca Koch, Vincent Hinton, Lisa Reed and Jayme Pendergast. Preyear is also very appreciative of Bill Jarr, her supervisor, because he is so supportive and has excellent people skills. The people are what sold her on Life U.

Preyear graduated from the University of Southern Alabama with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science because she wanted to work in public service. After graduation she worked for several community-based organizations, and before coming to Life U, she returned to the University of Alabama to get her master’s degree in Higher Education Leadership and to work for their Center for Healthy Communities. In that role, she helped people learn how to live a healthier lifestyle and addressed health disparities. Preyear is currently studying for her doctorate degree in Educational Equity in Higher Education at the University of Colorado.

The Title IX Coordinator role at Life U requires Preyear to “coordinate the University’s Title IX related efforts and also oversee the University’s compliance with Title IX regulations.”

Title IX was established by the federal government to protect people from the following unlawful behavior at all educational institutions that receive federal funding, not just institutions of higher education. It prohibits any sexual discrimination, which includes pregnancy, gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation. Title IX prohibits sexual harassment, which includes sexual violence, sexual assault, sexual coercion, domestic and intimate violence, stalking and retaliation. For more information, go to the Title IX Government Website.

Preyear’s next objective is to partner with faculty to bring awareness to and engagement of this program to Life U students, faculty and staff. She has reached out to faculty to connect with them and let them know that if for some reason they are unable to facilitate their class, instead of cancelling, she would be happy to cover for them and share information with their students about Title IX and how it impacts them. Preyear’s goal is to educate campus community members about Title IX, facilitate Title IX presentations in the classrooms, strengthening prevention programming efforts and ensure that every aspect of the program follows the guidelines that have been set forth by the federal government. She wants to ensure that the processes that are already in place at Life U are efficient and effective in addressing Title IX-related issues. Providing adequate support to those in need who report incidents and giving them access to resources and assistance to complete their academic program is what Title IX is all about.

“Right now, I am in the process of building and expanding the program,” Preyear said. “I want to increase student engagement through prevention education initiatives and programs.”

 

 

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