Sue Ritter Transitions to New Role

Title IX Coordinator Sue Ritter ’83 will step down from her current position and become special assistant to the president, associate secretary to the board and director of community relations starting on Thursday, Nov. 15. President Laurie L. Patton announced the move in a school-wide email Monday. Ritter will fill the position left vacant by Dave Donahue ’91, who has accepted a position at an educational nonprofit in Florida.

Ritter has worked at the college since 2007. She worked as the associate director of corporate and foundation relations and later as the associate director of alumni relations before moving to the Title IX Office in 2015.

During her time serving as the Title IX coordinator, she was responsible for the college’s response to reporting related to sexual assault and the college’s compliance with Title IX, the Clery Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act and anti-discrimination laws.

In her new position, Ritter will work even more closely with Patton, as she will report directly to her on a daily basis. She will also be working even more closely with the Board of Trustees as the new associate secretary.

[pullquote speaker="Title IX Coordinator Sue Ritter ’83" photo="" align="center" background="on" border="all" shadow="on"]As someone who has lived Middlebury for the past 23 years, I have a strong sense of what makes this community such a special one.[/pullquote]

A significant change in her responsibilities will be her work managing the college’s relationships with the larger Middlebury, Addison County and Vermont communities. 

Ritter and her spouse, Bob Ritter ’82, the college’s head football coach, have lived in Middlebury since 1995. Before working at the college, she worked as an attorney in the area, which put her in close contact with town members.

“I represented numerous Vermont municipalities and town officials and have served on many local nonprofit boards, including the United Way of Addison County, Porter Hospital, Eastview at Middlebury and the Mary Hogan School Board,” she said. “Some of this worked involved collaboration with the college, and through it all I developed a deep understanding of the critical importance of town-gown relations.”

The two are also parents of three Middlebury students past and present and have been engaged community members. Ritter even has a special named after her at Middlebury Bagel & Deli: “Sue’s Eggs.”

“As someone who has lived Middlebury for the past 23 years, I have a strong sense of what makes this community such a special one,” Ritter said.

Patton wrote in the email that the college will begin the search for a new Title IX coordinator immediately.

“I will remain involved with the Title IX office during this transition period, and I know that Middlebury will remain committed to a fair and effective Title IX process going forward,” she said.