Kevin Sheppard Sr. has been hired as the ADA Compliance officer as well as the Title IX Coordinator, a position previously held by Vice President and Chief of Staff of Winthrop University, Kimberly Faust.
Faust’s exit from this position was announced at the beginning of the semester after student concerns that Faust’s position as the Vice President was a conflict of interest with the position of Title IX Coordinator.
Sheppard is the Title IX investigator and lead trainer in the University of South Carolina’s Office of Equal Opportunity Programs and has been a Reverend at Mt. Zion Baptist Church since 2014.
Sheppard was chosen by a council made up of different Winthrop University leaders, including the Council of Student Leaders President.
The combining of the positions of Title IX Coordinator and ADA Compliance officer is a new direction for the University.
“We actively listened to campus feedback and determined that a position solely dedicated to the very important areas of Title IX and ADA Compliance was critically important for Winthrop. Kevin will begin work on a number of commitments that we have made institutionally to address Title IX concerns and the processes by which those concerns have been heard and vetted in the past,” said Winthrop Interim President George Hynd.
One of Sheppard’s first tasks will be to tackle Winthrop University’s present problems regarding accessibility and sexual assault. Sheppard will begin at the university on Nov. 1.
