The University of Arizona has announced the hiring of Ronald A. Wilson as Title IX director following a nationwide search. Wilson joined the university Oct. 29.

“As our chief Title IX officer, Ron will lead the university in determining what resources, policies and procedures are needed to make our Title IX program a national model,” said UA President Robert C. Robbins. “Ron is uniquely qualified for this role with a breadth and depth of experience that I have rarely encountered. His hiring underscores the university’s commitment to cultivating a campus environment that is free from all forms of sexual harassment and gender discrimination.”

Wilson, who reports to Robbins, will have oversight of the Title IX program. His first priority will be to assess the policies and processes of the current program and the level of support dedicated to Title IX investigations at the university. He will be responsible for developing comprehensive Title IX programs and implementing training.

“We can and we must go above and beyond compliance, and we will,” Wilson said. “It is an honor to return home to the University of Arizona and work for President Robbins in this role.”

Wilson, a former UA faculty member, has served as a chief diversity officer, equal opportunity administrator and investigator, agency open record officer, Title IX coordinator for gender equity in sport and Title IX investigator at Edinboro University in Pennsylvania.

He has roots in Arizona and made state history in 2002 when he became the first African-American to serve as presiding judge for the city of South Tucson. At the same time, he was an adjunct faculty member for the UA Department of Africana Studies. He later became a faculty member at the Judicial College of Arizona at the Arizona Supreme Court in Phoenix. In 2014, Wilson served as vice president of the Tucson-Southern Arizona Black Chamber of Commerce.

He earned his law degree from Northeastern University after attaining a bachelor’s degree from Syracuse University. Following law school, he was a John D. O’Bryant Community Fellow at the Northeastern University Otto P. Snowden Urban Law and Public Policy Institute.

Wilson has received numerous honors, including the NAACP Rosa Parks Living History Makers Award, the League of United Latin American Citizens Community Service Award and the Asa Philip Randolph Institute Ida B. Wells Social Justice Award.