Marking the 50th anniversary of Title IX, Penn State launches women’s athletic endowment
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Penn State celebrated the 50th anniversary of Title IX Thursday by having a “Roar and Rally” event. The event — which was put together by Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics and the Gender Equity Center — began at the school’s We Are statue and ended at Old Main, where multiple speeches took place.
Title IX — which is only 37 words long — is a part of the Education Amendments of 1972 that were signed into law by former president Richard Nixon. The law helped create a level of equality between men’s and women’s sports by outlawing discrimination based on sex.
Several prominent administrators spoke at the event, including outgoing athletic director Sandy Barbour, who announced her retirement earlier this year, president Neeli Bendapudi and incoming athletic director Pat Kraft.
The event coincided with the university launching the Penn State Women’s Athletic Endowment, which will help support women’s athletics at Penn State.
“There is truly no proper way to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Title IX, but we can certainly try to pay homage the ‘We Are’ way,” senior associate athletic director Lauren Rhodes said earlier this month. “Thanks to Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Sandy Barbour’s vision, staff with Athletics and Student Affairs partnered to bring to life the first ever Roar and Rally. This walk-to-rally event was made possible so all members of our Penn State community could come out and celebrate the 37 words that reshaped higher education and continue to positively impact athletics today.”
Penn State will also be a part of the Big Ten’s celebration of the law during its 50th anniversary year. The conference, alongside the ACC and Pac-12, announced a campaign to celebrate the law’s passing.
The three conferences’ plan will increase during the coming academic year and is slated to include a public service announcement and recognition of 50 athletes, administrators or coaches from each conference, among other initiatives.
