Deborah Wilkins, who has been WKU’s General Counsel since 1994, will become a “senior advisor” to the president, as well as Interim Title IX coordinator, if approved by the Board of Regents on Friday.

An addendum to Wilkins’ previous employment agreement will be presented to the Regents, along with an employment agreement for Andrea Anderson, who would step into Wilkins’ previous role of general counsel. Anderson’s current position is assistant general counsel.

If approved, the change will be effective July 1.

Wilkins’ senior advisor position will include overseeing litigation and supervising outside legal counsel as well as providing “support and consultation to the General Counsel, as requested,” according to the document. 

As the Interim Title IX coordinator, Wilkins will report to the provost and oversee the university’s compliance with national Title IX standards.

Wilkins’ salary will remain unchanged. She makes $178,164 each year, according to the document.

Wilkins’ initial employment contract  — which the Herald obtained in a 2018 open records request — was signed in 2013 by former university President Gary Ransdell for a four-year period and renewed annually in the years since.  

The current addendum notes that Wilkins’ salary will not be reduced during the time of the agreement and that she will be “provided with an office appropriate for the position, consistent with her education and experience and located on the main campus.” The same language was used in her initial employment contract.

The office space for the General Counsel recently moved into the Wetherby Administration Building, where remodeling measures cost over $47,000.

Laurel Deppen can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @laurel_deppen.