The first finalist for director of the Kansas University Office of Institutional Opportunity and Access is a longtime collegiate attorney looking to move into an office that works directly with students.

Abigail Byman, director of academic labor relations at California State University, said she would like to lead the KU office that handles sexual assault investigations and discrimination complaints.

“I think that this is the most important work there is at this time,” she said. “I want to be a part of it.”

Byman, the first of three IOA director finalists expected to visit KU in coming weeks, gave a public presentation Monday at the Kansas Union.

Abigail Byman

As principal of Higher Education Legal Solutions Inc. from 2010 to 2014, Byman provided legal consulting to colleges and universities, according to her resume. Previously she worked 15 years in the office of general counsel at University of Scranton (Pa.) and more than 15 years in the office of general counsel at Loyola University of Chicago.

Byman said she has a personal interest in Title IX — the federal law prohibiting discrimination in education on the basis of sex, including sexual violence — and has volunteered in related areas, including nearly 20 years on the board and legal committee of the Women’s Resource Center of Scranton, which supports victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence and stalking. She said she also has completed Title IX coordinator training through the National Association of College and University Attorneys.

She said students should know they have a right to access their education, the right to have their cases pursued as they want and that everyone involved in a case should have a fair chance to be heard.

Her priorities at KU would include ensuring “bad actors” are dealt with quickly and appropriately, which can range from counseling to expulsion depending on the case, Byman said.

She said IOA must prioritize both compliance and preventive education, specifically sex assault training early in students’ freshman year.

“It is the compliance office for nondiscrimination laws,” she said. But also, “all of us are here as part of the educational experience of students … it needs to be not just reactive but also proactive.”

Byman received her law degree from the University of Denver College of Law and her bachelor’s degree in government and international relations from Carleton College.

The new IOA director will replace Jane McQueeny, who resigned in October.

The IOA director’s time will be spent primarily on investigation management and “administrative leadership,” including developing Title IX and nondiscrimination policies, according to KU’s job description for the position. Ten percent of the director’s time is to be devoted to training.

The next two candidates, whose names had not been announced Monday afternoon, are scheduled to present at 10 a.m. Wednesday in the Big 12 Room at the Kansas Union and at 10 a.m. Jan. 12 at Alderson Auditorium in the Union.