Univ. of Tenn. Could Pay $240K to Improve Communications After Title IX Lawsuit
The contract will allow for as much as $20,000 to be paid each month to the communications professional.
Leaders of the University of Tennessee agreed to hire a communications professional to improve communications following allegations of sexual assault.
The communications professional agreed to a one-year contract that could pay as much as $20,000 per month, which would be a higher salary than any other communications executive at the school, reports knoxnews.com.
The position was created in response to a Title IX lawsuit that accused the school of inappropriately responding to sexual assault allegations against football players.
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That lawsuit was settled for $2.48 million in July and the players involved are awaiting criminal trials. Half of the settlement will be paid by the university and half will be paid by the athletic department. The football program at UT is worth an estimated $126 million alone.
As a result of that lawsuit, executives with the UT system created an independent commission to review university sexual assault policies and programs.
The university also added five new positions to the Title IX office to handle sexual assault prevention, awareness and response.
One of the duties of the new communications professional will be to respond to media inquiries about the commission.
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