Rick Olshak is an experienced practitioner in civil rights compliance (Title VI, Title VII, Title IX, ADA, Section 504, etc.) who most recently served as the Director of Title IX and Student Conduct Compliance for The Texas A&M University System. In that role, Rick worked on behalf of eleven universities, eight state agencies, and system offices to ensure compliance with federal and state law, and to provide training and resources to civil rights personnel. Rick also directed the review process for A&M System regulations governing civil rights compliance and served as a hearing officer, appellate official, investigator, and compliance reviewer. Rick also served as an adjunct faculty member at the Texas A&M University School of Law.
Prior to this, Rick worked at Illinois State University (Normal, IL) where he served as Associate Dean of Students (2004-2016) and as Director of Student Dispute Resolution Services (1996-2005). He also worked as Assistant Director of Residential Services for Judicial Programs at the State University of New York College at Cortland (1993-1995) and as the Coordinator of Student Judicial Services at Georgetown University (1990-1992). Rick is a past president of the Association for Student Conduct Administration (ASCA).
Rick has served as a mediator in the community and court settings, as well as within higher education. He has written extensively on conflict resolution, mediation, program development, implementation, and assessment, and he has trained mediators at institutions across the nation. A native of Albany, NY, Rick received his formal education at The College of Saint Rose (NY), Western Illinois University, and Illinois State University. Rick now resides in Los Angeles.