A Kansas University alumna who led the fight for gender equality in sports at KU will return this week for a discussion about her effort.

Anne Levinson, a 1980 KU graduate, will take part in a panel discussion at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Big 12 Room at the Kansas Union, along with others who pushed for compliance with Title IX legislation at KU during the 1970s and 1980s.

Levinson was a member of KU’s field hockey team when she sued the university over plans to eliminate the team and other women’s sports programs, alleging that the move would violate Title IX. After a government investigation, KU complied with the law.

Since receiving a Bachelor of Arts in political science from KU, she has worked as a municipal judge in Seattle, served as deputy mayor and become a part-owner of Seattle’s WNBA team in an effort to keep it from moving to Oklahoma City. She also led public support of Washington’s Referendum 71, which expanded rights for same-sex couples and their families.

KU Chancellor Emeritus Del Shankel will moderate the panel discussion Thursday. Also on the panel will be Reggie Robinson, former president and CEO of the Kansas Board of Regents and a professor of law at Washburn University; Steve Leven, a Kansas Court of Appeals judge; and Betty Banks, professor emerita of classics, who encouraged Levinson in her Title IX fight.

Also on Thursday, Levinson will visit political science and women, gender and sexuality studies classes to discuss her career.