Title IX Coordinator Announcement
Dear Carleton students, faculty, and staff:
Last summer, I announced a reorganization of the Division of Student Life’s administrative structure to include the first full-time Title IX Coordinator for Carleton. An important element of our work includes making sure a dedicated team is in place to help address the challenges that face Carleton—and all colleges and universities—regarding issues of sexual harassment, discrimination and violence.
Today, I am pleased to announce that Laura Riehle -Merrill, currently director for Community Engagement and Student Leadership for the Center for Community and Civic Engagement, has been named the college’s first full-time Title IX Coordinator effective August 15, 2017. In this new role, she will lead our efforts to improve the campus climate; ensure we have effective resources in place for students, faculty and staff who are affected by sexual harassment, discrimination or violence; and implement policies and practices that are prompt, equitable and in compliance with federal mandates, including Title IX.
Laura attended Mansfield College, University of Oxford, England and is a graduate of Gustavus Adolphus College in English with a Women’s Studies concentration. She also received a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado.
Laura has been serving on Carleton’s Title IX Lead Team as Deputy for Support. In this role, Laura has planned training for sexual misconduct support (SMS) advisers, board members, and the greater campus community. For the past five years, Laura has served as an adviser for Carleton students who are going through the College’s sexual misconduct complaint process. Through this lived experience, she has seen how crucial it is for Carleton to continue to provide resources for students going through the complaint process, and to simultaneously bolster campus-wide prevention efforts.
Since Laura arrived at Carleton in 2005, she has worked collaboratively with faculty, staff and students. She has served on the Green Dot Steering Committee, the Peer Leader Committee, and the Sesquicentennial Planning Committee, among others.
I am confident that Laura will continue to carry this collaborative spirit to her new role. I am grateful that Laura will bring the vision, skills, passion and experience we need to lead Carleton College’s Title IX efforts into the next phase.
Please also join me in thanking the chair of the Title IX Search Advisory Committee, Heidi Jaynes; the Search Advisory Committee members; and Amy Sillanpa, who has served as Acting Title IX Coordinator.
Assistant Dean Announcement
I am pleased to announce that Sindy Fleming, currently director for the Center for Multicultural and International Engagement for St. Olaf College, has been named Assistant Dean of Students in the Dean of Students Office effective July 15, 2017.
In this new role, Sindy will provide centralized support for students on leave or taking a leave, and lead efforts to increase programmatic synergies between of the Office of Intercultural and International Life and the Gender and Sexuality Center. Sindy will also collaborate with faculty and staff to provide an environment of dialogue in which students build on their critical thinking and leadership skills.
Sindy attended the University Del Valle in Guatemala City, Guatemala, and is a graduate of St. Olaf College in Spanish and Education K-12 licensure. She also received a Master of Education in Teaching and Learning from Saint Mary’s University and is completing an Ed.D. from the University of Southern California’s Rossier School of Education.
Sindy has been providing and promoting programs, initiatives, and an atmosphere that fosters academics, leadership, service, and community. She served as a TRIO/Student Support Services (SSS) Academic Advisor that allowed her to work with first- generation and low-income college students at a selective liberal arts institution. She also taught in both public and private schools ranging from kindergarten to twelfth grade, and obtained funding for Sustained Dialogue at St. Olaf. She also served as a co-facilitator for a faculty learning community, which provided a hands-on workshop for integrating diversity conversations into first-year courses.
I am excited that Sindy will bring her collaborative spirit, passion, and energies to Carleton.
Please join me in welcoming Sindy Fleming to Carleton.
Happy summer!
Carolyn H. Livingston, Ph.D
Vice President for Student Life and Dean of Students