KING OF PRUSSIA, PA — The Association of Title IX Administrators has renamed its flagship research grant program in honor of Dr. Bernice “Bunny” Sandler, a move that ties one of the nation’s most important education equity funding vehicles to the woman who helped bring Title IX into existence.
The program, now called the Dr. Bernice Sandler Title IX Research Grant, marks the tenth year of ATIXA’s effort to fund scholarship on sex-based discrimination, compliance, and best practices in education. Sandler, who died in 2019, is widely regarded as the architect of the modern Title IX framework and is often called the “Godmother of Title IX” for her role in reshaping opportunities for women in higher education.
ATIXA launched the grant program in 2015 to support research that informs how schools and universities interpret and apply Title IX, the federal law that prohibits sex discrimination in federally funded education programs. By attaching Sandler’s name to the program, the organization is formally linking today’s policy debates to the activist who forced Washington to confront discrimination on campus more than five decades ago.
In the late 1960s, Sandler uncovered federal contractor rules that barred sex discrimination by institutions receiving federal funds. She used those rules to file hundreds of administrative complaints against colleges and universities, documenting how female faculty and staff were routinely sidelined. That work helped trigger landmark congressional hearings in 1970 and ultimately led to the 1972 passage of Title IX, which expanded the ban on sex discrimination to students as well.
Over her career, Sandler advised multiple presidential administrations, authored influential research on gender bias in academia, and served as an expert witness in discrimination and harassment cases, giving her an outsized role in shaping how the law is interpreted and enforced.
ATIXA leaders framed the renaming as both a tribute and a statement of purpose at a time when Title IX research funding has become more politically fraught.
“Funding opportunities to study issues surrounding Title IX have been reduced or eliminated under the current administration, which we view as punitive and exclusionary,” said Brett A. Sokolow, chair of the TNG Board of Directors and ATIXA Advisory Board. “ATIXA remains steadfast in its support for research that deepens understanding, strengthens fair practices, and preserves the law’s foundational promise of equity. We pay tribute to Dr. Sandler’s legacy by extending her lifelong commitment to equity in education.”
The grant program is open to ATIXA members and the general public. Individual researchers or teams can apply for awards of $2,500 to conduct studies that advance the sex-equity goals of Title IX, whether through historical analysis or research addressing emerging compliance and policy challenges.
Grant recipients are invited to share their findings through multiple ATIXA platforms, including in-person presentations at the organization’s annual conference, multipart blog series, or recorded webinars for its members-only library.
ATIXA said the funding and visibility provided through the program do not constitute partnerships or endorsements, but are intended to encourage rigorous, independent scholarship. By anchoring the grant in Sandler’s name, the organization is betting that her legacy will continue to shape the next generation of Title IX research and debate.
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