The social and political implications of Title IX will be the focus of the Esther Larson McGinnis Scholar Lecture on Wednesday, October 25. There will be a reception open to the public beginning at 6:30 p.m. and at 7 p.m., Mary Jo Kane will present “The Impact, Challenges and Opportunities Surrounding Title IX 45-years After Passage” in the Prairie Room of the Bone Student Center. Kane is a professor and director of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport in the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Minnesota.

image of Mary Jo Kane

Mary Jo Kane

Kane is an internationally recognized scholar who has published extensively on media representations of women’s sports. As one of the nation’s leading experts in Title IX, Kane has appeared on the Today Show and her research has been cited by the New York Times, USA Today, and the Washington Post. In 2016, she was named one of the 100 Most Influential Sports Educators by the Institute for International Sport.

After receiving her Ph.D. from the University of Illinois with an emphasis in sport sociology, Kane has won numerous awards in her field. She is a fellow in the American Academy of Kinesiology, the highest academic honor in her field; a past recipient of the Scholar of the Year Award from the Women’s Sports Foundation; and the Dorothy McNeill Tucker Chair for Women in Sport & Exercise Science, the first endowed chair in the nation related to women in sport.

In 2012, Kane received a Distinguished Service Award from the Minnesota Coalition of Women in Athletic Leadership, an award given to individuals who exemplify the highest levels of commitment and contributions to breaking barriers for girls and women in sports.

The talk is part of the Illinois State University Speaker Series. The series seeks to bring innovative and enlightening speakers to the campus with the aim of providing the community with a platform to foster dialogue, cultivate enriching ideas, and continue an appreciation of learning as an active and lifelong process. All talks are free and open to the public.