Two staffing changes in the Title IX Office support department took effect on February 8.
Former head of Title IX support Deidre Loftus accepted a position in Human Resources as an HR specialist and began her new role on February 8. Loftus began working as the Title IX Coordinator in July of 2020.
“The new position is essentially half focused on employee relations and communication and half focused on training and prevention efforts,” Loftus said.
According to Loftus, her new role comes as the college sees a need for more extensive and strategic training for faculty and staff.
“I am incredibly excited about this new opportunity both for myself and also for the college,” Loftus stated.
Although Loftus will be taking on a new position, what she learned while working as the Title IX coordinator will be moving with her.
“I think it will be incredibly valuable to begin the new position focused on employees, having had the experience of working closely with students,” Loftus said.
Taking Loftus’s old position is a familiar face on campus, Jeffery Maher, who formerly worked at Keene State College from 2015 to 2019. Maher will now take on the role as Program Manager for Title IX, Bias and Discriminatory Harassment.
Maher has accepted the position until June of 2022 and will begin on February 22.
Maher, who previously worked not only in the Title IX office but also as Director of Campus Safety and Compliance from 2017 to 2019 is eager to come back to his old stomping grounds.
“It’s a wonderful community,” Maher explained. “I am very excited to be back. I found [Keene State] to be a wonderful collaborative environment where individual contributions are valued and the work is valued.”
After Maher’s initial departure from Keene State, Maher went onto work at a private boarding school. In that environment, Maher was working with high school students, which he explains is different from the issues he faces at the collegiate level.
“There is a different kind of prevention piece with students that age versus students who are now really adults in college,” Maher said.
Although different, Maher found the experience to be rewarding. “It was a very informative experience because I came into that environment from college,” Maher explained.
Although Loftus will be leaving her position, she left some encouraging words for Maher.
“Maher is going to be a tremendous asset to Keene State,” Loftus stated. “He has so much passion for and experience related to sexual misconduct and prevention response.”
Ultimately, Maher wants to share a thanks to the community for inviting him back. “Thank you. Thank you President Treadwell and Dr. Morris and everyone else at KSC who has placed a measure of trust in me to advance what are important goals,” Maher said.
Connor Crawford can be contacted at:
ccrawford@kscequinox.com
