She brings diverse experience to the role: She has been senior corporate counsel at the Constitutional Law Center for Muslims in America and general counsel at the United Negro College Fund, in addition to the higher education roles she has held, most recently at Kansas State University.

Growing up in Brooklyn and in Rochester, New York, she spent lots of time with her grandmother, who taught at the Tuskegee Institute, now Tuskegee University, and university life continues to inspire her. “Being part of the institutions whose focus is preparing students to make the country and the world better,” she said, “is the greatest job ever.”

What drew you to Fordham?

Fordham’s Jesuit model of educating for justice, as well as some of the issues in higher education right now—in particular, last year’s Supreme Court decision on affirmative action and how that may impact enrollment, diversity, and scholarships. Because Fordham is in New York City, where every group in the world is represented, I think we can be a model for other institutions on how to adhere to the Supreme Court decision but also achieve diversity.

What are some higher education issues on the horizon that have a legal aspect?

Artificial intelligence is one—for instance, ensuring that a student’s application is not totally written by AI or a student taking an exam has not gotten the answers from AI. How do you use AI’s power versus having it supplant original thought? I think the biggest risk is trying to ban the technology. I don’t think you can truly ban it because it’s really in the general stream of commerce. I think you have to find a way to harness it as best you can.

Expressive activity is another one. I firmly believe in the First Amendment; the students are very passionate about issues, so how do you have that dialogue with students to share their rights with them? There’s a way to express your views that’s not deleterious to the learning environment.

Can you give a few points of pride from your career?

One example is helping to establish the Gates Millennium Scholars Program when I was with the United Negro College Fund, which works with the Gates Foundation to co-administer the program. It was a $1.6 billion effort to help 20,000 low-income students from underrepresented groups get a college education. The other is when I lobbied on Capitol Hill, also during my time at the United Negro College Fund, to help secure about $2.6 billion in mandatory funding for historically Black and minority-serving institutions in the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, passed in 2010.

Building collaborative and strategic teams—at Kansas State and other places—is something else I’m really proud of: creating space for dialogue and debate, being team-oriented, making sure the counsel’s office is accessible so we’re probing and thinking along with everyone else versus coming in like firefighters after a problem arises.

What do you like most about working as a lawyer in higher education?

Having that exposure to a diversity of important issues. You can go from contract to employment law to constitutional law to athletics. So many major legal issues that are being discussed, even before the Supreme Court, come from higher ed—Title IX, expressive activity and the First Amendment, and research and research security. And being a strategic partner with the leadership of an institution like Fordham is an incredible and rewarding experience. Like I said, for me it’s the greatest job ever!

He recently sat down with Fordham News to delve into some of the prickly questions that can arise amidst a national debate on college responsibilities as they relate to sexual harassment and gender discrimination.

The role of Title IX coordinator isn’t new, but it has evolved into a rather intense position in recent years. Would you say that’s a fair assumption?

I would say that, yes, there’s more attention through the media and in terms of the discussions people are having. We’ve seen wonderful things accomplished through the #MeToo movement, but it’s always been an important issue and an area that has profoundly impacted the lives of pretty much everyone. We all know someone who’s been affected by sexual harassment, sexual assault, or a related issue.

What are your guidelines?

We must be in compliance with federal, state, and local law and adhere to those requirements. But also, to the extent that we can, we want to reflect the mission of the University, its values, and move forward in a way that makes people feel that their voice is being heard.

How do you handle the accuser and the accused with equal empathy?

There’s a lot to unpack there. Our primary role is to be neutral or impartial so we don’t take sides. We listen to each individual’s experience. We know that this is a traumatic and/or difficult experience for everyone involved and so we go through the process and we collect information. To the extent that we can, we find out what occurred, in the greatest amount of detail possible, and make our determinations based on that.

In some of the more publicized cases, it can seem pretty clear cut as to who is at fault. Are there nuances we may be missing?

Media coverage is completely different from being around individuals who are really immersed in those cases and understand the nuances. News coverage just gives us a glimpse of someone “winning” or “losing,” but we are not in that position in this office. Our job is to highlight the information that’s available and make an informed decision based on regulations, laws, guidelines. One of our main responsibilities is to make sure an individual’s information remains confidential and that we treat this sensitive information in a way that’s respectful to them, as well as respectful to the process.

You mentioned mainstream media coverage. What about the court of public opinion and how that often plays out on social media?

It’s important for us to be grounded and understand what our role is. These are sensitive issues, so we won’t acknowledge to the media whether or not a case is before us. When people come to us, they are in crisis, or have experienced trauma, or are facing something that is possibly the most difficult issue they have faced in their lives. We will not put that out into the public for their discourse, entertainment, analysis. That’s just not our role.

How did you come to this work? Was it a calling?

I think everyone should care and not need a reason to, so whether or not I, or a person close to me, had a personal experience is irrelevant. But the work is a perfect combination of my experience as an attorney and my focus on employment law. It also meshes well with my experience gaining a master’s in education, so understanding the higher education setting, all the dynamics that exist, the various constituencies, et cetera. So it’s a perfect blend of that.

What attracted you to the academic environment?

I think people have an opportunity to grow and develop at any age, but the number of opportunities at a higher education institution, and especially of the quality at Fordham, they’re incredibly clear. It’s a great opportunity to be around people who are trying to realize their full academic potential. And it’s our role to assist anyone who comes in to our office with realizing that and achieving that.

Do you think it’s the University’s role to educate about appropriate behavior?

Very few people are acting nefariously. But in those cases when they do, they have to be addressed. But I like to approach this as an issue of awareness and education. Again, that’s why this setting is so wonderful, because we can improve awareness.

The campus setting can also present its own unique challenges. What about those who may find subject matter brought up in the classroom offensive?

This is an academic institution in which we are trying to discuss or learn about difficult subjects. We need to have discussions about those topics in this setting. It’s important to provide professors or students the freedom to engage in that speech. There are subjects that make it necessary to use certain words or certain pictures, even those that may seem incredibly inappropriate. Everything must be determined on a case by case basis. A lot of thorny issues come up from some of the most beautiful, wonderful areas of academic study.

Ms. Scaglione received her Juris Doctor degree from St. John’s University in 1999, and her bachelor’s degree from John Jay College, CUNY, in 1993. She came to Fordham in 2015 after serving 20 years with the New York City Police Department as a patrol officer, police officer/attorney, patrol sergeant, and sergeant/attorney.

At Fordham, Ms. Scaglione investigated allegations of University Code of Conduct and Title IX violations, which included interviews of complainants, respondents, and witnesses; seeking and evaluating evidence; providing support, information, and comfort to victims of violent crime; and accompanying victims through the criminal justice system.

As a uniformed attorney with NYPD’s Legal Bureau, Ms. Scaglione supervised the Nuisance Abatement Unit, represented the police department at hearings and trials, and negotiated and approved settlements. She also served as the assistant deputy managing attorney for the department’s Vehicle Seizure Unit, and as an attorney in the Department Advocates Office, where she prepared and presented misconduct cases against uniform and civilian members of the NYPD to administrative law judges.

Ms. Scaglione will be assisted by Christopher Clark, FCRH ’14, and a staff assistant in the Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance. Mr. Clark, currently enrolled in the evening division at Fordham Law, has worked with students, faculty, and staff on developing key initiatives like increasing employee diversity, promoting equitable hiring practices, and educating the University community on important issues. He has conducted numerous trainings relating to University policies on Title IX and sexual misconduct and has helped investigate various issues of discrimination.

The University will announce the formation and composition of a search committee next week to fill the position permanently.