RPI hires second Title IX coordinator

Melissa Walega has been hired as a Title IX Coordinator and Senior Human Resources Specialist according to an announcement sent through Morning Mail this morning. Walega is now one of two Title IX coordinators at Rensselaer.

On March 17, RPI’s Title IX site only listed Jacquelyn Turner on the Reporting to Rensselaer subsection but the HR site listed both Larry Hardy and Walega as Title IX Coordinators along with Turner. The Polytechnic emailed Director of Media Relations and Communications Deanna Cohen on March 17 inquiring who the current Title IX coordinators are and when Walega was hired. On March 18, Cohen responded that “The current Title IX Coordinators are Ms. Jackie Turner and Ms. Melissa Walega.”

The Polytechnic followed up on Friday to ask when Walega was hired as a Title IX coordinator, and inquired what the policies are for announcing the hiring of administrators to students. Cohen responded with the following comment: “For hiring policies, please refer to our HR website: https://hr.rpi.edu/policies-procedures.”

Cohen did not provide a date for when Walega was hired. According to her LinkedIn profile, Walega began working at RPI this March.

Turner was the only listed Title IX coordinator for the Institute in October 2021, as Brown-Goyette and Hardy were no longer Title IX coordinators at the time. On October 20, 2021, Vice President for Human Resources Curtis Powell commented that Hardy is no longer listed as a Title IX coordinator because he retired, though “he has agreed to assist the Institute with investigating alleged complaints of sexual misconduct and assaults, if necessary.”