The two highest ranking staffers in the Gender and Equality Center have left the University of Oklahoma for out-of-state positions within the span of a year, forcing students and remaining staff to modify the organization to function without its major leaders.
Kasey Catlett, former associate director of LGBTQ+ Programs, left his position at the Gender and Equality Center for a job at the University of Texas – Arlington in June 2017.
A year later, Director Kathy Fahl announced she is leaving for a position as assistant dean of students at Ohio University. Catlett and Fahl served a combined 19 years at the center.
“I think both of them have been such a big part of OU and especially our office,” GEC case manager Elisa Sullivan said. “Kasey was here as a student, as a graduate student and then as staff. They had both been here so long. I came back into this position to work with Kathy, and she will definitely be missed.”
New staffers have been brought in to offset the directorial loss, but the bulk of the responsibility in the period between Fahl’s departure and replacement will fall to the students involved in the organization, as was the case with Catlett’s departure the year prior.
“What was really cool to see was in the interim when we didn’t have someone in (Catlett’s) position was how the students stepped up and came up with ideas for events, taking on more responsibilities,” said GEC Programs Coordinator Bliss Brown. “That was really neat to see the impact that he left on them. They care about the program still.”
Catlett’s position remained vacant after his departure. Unable to find a candidate to rival the broad qualifications required of an associate director, it was eventually removed and replaced with a program coordinator position filled by Jordan Weaver. During his time as an OU student, Weaver served as the graphic design intern for the center. In his final year as an undergraduate, Weaver worked in the office of rebranding initiatives, helping transform OU’s Women’s Outreach Center into the Gender and Equality Center.
The center is focused on providing a safe and supportive environment for students who identify as LGBTQ+ and on providing guidance and education for those who don’t. OU was named “Best in State” for LGBTQ+ students in 2018 by the Campus Pride Index in partnership with bestcolleges.com.
With Fahl leaving, the remaining Gender and Equality Center staff has had to adjust to a new structure that encompasses all its offered services without the aid of an acting director or associate director.
“It’s just a matter of piecing together what we have in order to best serve our students and our community,” Sullivan said.
While the staff remains devoted to the mission of equality and inclusivity, the loss of the center’s longstanding leader has taken its toll.
“There’s just a certain weight to having a director leave,” Sullivan said. “Not to say that Kasey leaving didn’t have that weight as well, but I think it will be a big change for our office space moving into the future. I think it is a great move for them, but it is a loss for the university.”
In her time at the center, Fahl started the Ally Program to equip students with the skills necessary to be active bystanders along with several programs aimed to prevent sexual and gender-based violence.
Fahl has yet to be replaced, but her duties have temporarily fallen to Kristen Partridge, associate dean of students and acting vice president of student affairs. Partridge was unavailable for comment, but Brown said Partridge’s provisional leadership has helped keep the organization running smoothly. Fahl’s soon-to-be former colleagues hope that whoever fills her position continues her legacy and maintains her vision for the program.
“Kathy played a really important role on campus; she did so much for the program and transformed it a lot,” GEC peer educator Sara Raines said. “She was also a really cool person to talk to. She played a really important role on campus and was someone students could go to when they needed anything.”
Having lost both director and associate director within the span of a year, some students involved in the center are wary about the organization’s ability to effectively get a new staff.
“I mean, we technically still haven’t filled Kasey’s empty position, so I am a little bit worried about them filling Kathy’s position as well,” Raines said. “I know they’re going to really try to find someone who can fill Kathy’s shoes, but it’s going to be a little bit of a challenge.”
