President Larry Dietz appointed Tony Walesby as the new director of the Office of Equal Opportunity and Access at Illinois State University, effective December 5, 2016.
Anthony Walesby
Coming to Illinois State from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, Walesby was the associate vice provost for academic and faculty affairs. He also served as senior director for the Office of Institutional Equity, overseeing compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, Title IX, affirmative action, and all other federal and state civil rights laws applicable to university policy. He helped to rewrite university policies and procedures on hiring practices, sexual misconduct, and harassment and discrimination. Before arriving at Michigan, he served as an assistant provost at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, as well as an associate director of the Office of Equal Opportunity and Access.
“We are pleased to welcome Tony back home to Illinois State,” said President Dietz of Walesby, who is a 1991 graduate of the University. “His expertise and passion for helping resolve conflicts is matched only by his compassion for the people he assists.”
Walesby served eight years as a federal investigator with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. He investigated allegations of education and employment discrimination, and enforced federal civil rights laws, including the Civil Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, Title IX of the Education Amendments, the Equal Pay Act, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.
A certified civil court mediator in Michigan, Walesby served on the board of directors for the Dispute Resolution Center of Washtenaw and Livingston counties.
Graduating from Illinois State with a bachelor’s degree in political science and history, Walesby earned a master’s in education from the University of Illinois. Before attending Illinois State, he served in the U.S. Navy for four years, and received an honorable discharge.
