"Campus leaders at Western Kentucky University are tight-lipped about a recent shake-up within the university president's cabinet, while rank-and-file staff have been left in the dark about the fate of a 25-year campus veteran, described 'as a force for transparency at WKU.'

"Deborah Wilkins has left her post as WKU's Title IX coordinator. The crucial role is responsible for ensuring the university's compliance with the civil rights law that prohibits sex discrimination within any school or educational program that receives federal funding.

"Wilkins stepped into the role of Title IX coordinator about a year ago after serving as the university's chief legal counsel for more than 25 years.

[WKU remains at the center of an open records legal battle with its student newspaper, The Heights Herald, arising from a 2016 request for access to sexual harassment investigative records.]

https://wkuherald.com/60950/news/blacked-out-redacted-sexual-misconduct…

"On Nov. 28, the Daily News submitted an Open Records Act request for a copy of Wilkins' personnel file, along with any written or electronic correspondence between Wilkins and WKU President Timothy Caboni over the previous month. On Friday, WKU General Counsel Andrea Anderson responded, turning over a redacted copy of Wilkins' personnel file with her personal information withheld and a single letter from Caboni to Wilkins, dated Nov. 22. Anderson told the Daily News that the letter 'is the only communication between Ms. Wilkins and President Caboni responsive to your request.'

"In the letter, Caboni notifies Wilkins that she is being relieved of her employment duties, but that the university will continue to pay Wilkins through June 30, 2022, the expiration of the employment agreement. The letter then directs Wilkins to arrange a time to collect her personal belongings from her office on campus, and refers further questions to Louisville-based attorney Gregg Hovious of the Middleton-Reutlinger law firm.

"The rest of Caboni's letter to Wilkins, specifically a substantial second paragraph, is redacted.

"Faculty are often targeted with messages from campus leadership touting the administration's commitment to transparency, 'but actions speak louder than words,' a faculty member said.

"In recent years, the administration has formed faculty and staff committees to address issues with Title IX and institutional racism, for example, only to require public employees to sign non-disclosure agreements that prevent them from discussing their work with other colleagues or the broader community.

https://wkuherald.com/62349/news/wku-committee-issues-ndas-to-its-membe…

"'To me, that makes this constant mantra about transparency laughable,' the faculty member said."