Giving Compass' Take:

• Smithsonian explores the contributions of the late Bernice Sandler, a college academic who played an important role in creating the landmark legislation known as Title IX.

• What does Sandler's legacy mean in the context of the "Me Too" movement? How might nonprofits in the higher ed space push for more reforms to protect women's rights?

• Here are some questions that new Title IX regulations leave unanswered.

Bernice Sandler began to realize something was deeply wrong in 1969 when she was passed over for a job at the University of Maryland. Sandler, who had recently earned a doctorate in education, had been working part-time at the university and knew there had been several job openings. When she asked for an explanation on why she wasn't hired, a colleague told her she came on “too strong for a woman.” At other schools, she lost out on more opportunities because she was told women stay home too much caring for sick children or that she was “just a housewife who went back to school.” Her husband verbalized the frustrations swirling in her head: This was sex discrimination.

That realization set Sandler on a path that led to the nationwide implementation of Title IX, which halted institutional discrimination in schools and led the way for women in academia and sports. That legacy lives on past Sandler, often known as “Bunny,” who died at the age of 90 on January 5, reports Tom Goldman and Bill Chappell at NPR.

Reflecting on her journey in 1997, Sandler said that at the time she knew discrimination was immoral, and believed it was likely illegal, too. But there was a problem: statutes barring sex discrimination in employment excluded educational institutions.

Read the full article about Bernice Sandler, the godmother of Title IX, by Jason Daley at Smithsonian.com.