Duke names director to handle sexual harassment complaints

Kallem will report to Ben Reese, vice president for institutional equity, who has been serving as Title IX coordinator as part of his vice president responsibilities.

“It made sense to have one individual who could devote their full time to every aspect of this issue, including training, overseeing the process of how we handle complaints and reviewing our policies and practices,” Reese said in a statement Tuesday. “The fact that we've created a full-time position, and brought in someone with Howie's experience and expertise, should indicate that we take this as seriously as anyone in higher education.”

Kallem comes to Duke from UNC-Chapel Hill, where he has served as Title IX compliance coordinator since January 2014. Previously, he spent nearly two decades in the Office for Civil Rights in the U.S. Department of Education, where he specialized in civil rights enforcement and Title IX compliance. Kallem began work at Duke this week.

Reese said he wants Duke to be “a national leader on the issue” and wants Kallem to work with students, faculty and staff to review Duke's Title IX practices and ensure the university has effective policies.