Aneesah Ali
Director, Equal Opportunity & Affirmative Action Programs
Deputy Title IX Coordinator
Indiana University Northwest
As Director of EOAA Programs, Aneesah plans, organizes and administers the IU Northwest Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Program to ensure alignment with federal and state nondiscrimination statutes and implementation of a results-oriented federal contractor program designed to increase the participation of minorities, women, veterans and individuals with disabilities. The Director monitors employment practices and recruitment activities, working with hiring authorities to recruit faculty and staff more reflective of the diversity of IU Northwest’s student body and the region. Aneesah develops and presents training programs for faculty, staff and students on nondiscrimination in employment practices and educational programs. She conducts investigations into alleged discrimination and provides advice and counsel to managers and to employees in mediating and resolving discrimination complaints. Through monitoring legislative, judicial and administrative actions relative to Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity and Title IX matters, Aneesah interprets the potential impact on the campus community and recommends appropriate adjustments in University policies and procedures.
As the Deputy Title IX Coordinator for IU Northwest, Aneesah works to ensure campus compliance with Title IX through training and prevention of sexual misconduct, complaint investigation and reporting.
Equity, Diversity & Inclusion consulting:
An experienced equality-to-inclusion professional, Aneesah utilizes a full-spectrum approach to Diversity & Inclusion systems management. As an EDI consultant, Aneesah frames her work in the context of interdependence, cultural intelligence and respect for community. She leverages her extensive experience and deep understanding of diversity program success as it relates to equal opportunity compliance for the benefit of client organizations and their constituents.
Prior administrative experience:
For over fifteen years, Aneesah served as Associate Provost and Affirmative Action Officer at The University of Chicago. Reporting to the University’s President and Provost, she had primary responsibility for coordinating University-wide compliance with affirmative action, equal opportunity, and nondiscrimination laws and policies for faculty, students and staff. Other central responsibilities were serving as the University Title IX Coordinator, ADA/504 Coordinator, conducting sensitive investigations involving faculty, staff and students, serving as UChicago’s primary representative before Federal and State enforcement agencies, leading the Harassment Complaint Advisor Committee, and overseeing the work of the Faculty Panel on Unlawful Harassment. Aneesah also represented UChicago in the Ivy League Plus Affirmative Action and Diversity Officers group and in the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC) AA/EO group.
A key diversity and inclusion leader at UChicago, Aneesah chaired the staff subcommittee of the Provost’s Initiative on Minority Issues (PIMI), the University’s diversity assessment initiative. She also facilitated the implementation of PIMI recommendations, such as the creation of the Diversity Leadership Council (DLC), of which she was a founding member and co-chair of the DLC Staff Subcommittee. In collaboration with academic and administrative leaders across campus, Aneesah developed, catalyzed and led diversity and compliance programs and training that addressed current and future needs in these areas. She conceived of, founded and led the UChicago Veterans Outreach Initiative, sponsored by the Office of the Provost, on behalf of all veterans at the University of Chicago.
Education, certifications and training:
A graduate of Brown University, Aneesah earned her bachelor’s degree in ethnic studies. At Governors State University she completed the coursework necessary for the Master of Arts degree in psychology before continuing her career at The University of Chicago. Aneesah also is a Cornell University Certified Diversity Management Professional and completed Cornell’s Employment Law Mediator Program. She has completed the Cook Ross Unconscious Bias Learning Lab (UBLL) and earned certification in the Unconscious Bias Train-the-Trainer program. In addition to her diversity management and human resources training, Aneesah has earned certifications in the areas of employment discrimination and affirmative action law, discrimination complaint processing, affirmative action plan development, principled negotiations and Americans with Disabilities Act administration through the National Employment Law Institute (NELI) and the American Association for Access, Equity and Diversity (AAAED) Professional Development and Training Institute. As a Title IX Coordinator, Ms. Ali’s training has been certified by the National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA).
