Liberty University Board votes to have independent review of school’s Title IX policies, processes

LYNCHBURG, Va. (WDBJ) - The Liberty University Board of Trustees has unanimously voted “to have an independent and comprehensive review of its Title IX policies and processes, including recommendations for improvement with best practices consistent with Liberty’s mission.”

WDBJ7 attended a rally Thursday evening in Lynchburg to support sexual assault survivors and demand a third-party investigation of Liberty University’s Title IX handlings after twelve anonymous women, known as Jane Does 1 through 12, filed a lawsuit this past summer alleging Title IX failures against Liberty.

The lawsuit features accounts of students and staff dating back years.

According to the announcement from Liberty, “The Board authorized President Prevo to engage a third party to independently assess the facts necessary for Liberty University to make things right with the Jane Doe Title IX plaintiffs, regardless of how long it has been.

“President Prevo noted during the board meeting the institution wasn’t going to wait until the reviews were complete to take positive actions. Prevo announced he had initiated the installation of up to 1,000 security cameras, in two phases, across the university’s campus in addition to the installation of emergency “blue light boxes” in key locations.

“The Trustees enthusiastically supported the initiative, which is expected to cost in excess of $8.5 million.”

Justice for Janes is a student group calling for three major reforms to the university: one, a third-party audit of the university’s Title IX offices; two, true amnesty for survivors reporting Title IX offenses; and three, blue light emergency boxes with a direct link to the Lynchburg Police Department.

They issued the following response to Friday’s announcement of the vote for an independent review:

“The press release does not mention a fully transparent investigation nor attorney client privilege which is essential as standard practice. If the point of the investigation is full transparency the announcement of that investigation should therefore be transparent. We do appreciate however the steps being made to reach this change. Prevo said he is a man of his word and if he is he needs to be transparent.”

Last month, WDBJ7 spoke to Justice for Janes regarding the case.