About the Authors

William Fischer, J.D.
William Fischer, J.D. currently serves as Vice President for Student Development at the University of Dayton. He joined the University of Dayton in November 2008 as Associate Vice President for Student Development, where his responsibilities included providing leadership to the departments of housing and residence life, community standards and civility, and public safety. He also was responsible for student life policy review, as well as crisis and risk management related-issues in student development. Bill has 15 years of experience in higher education with specialty focus on student conduct and conflict resolution systems, crisis and risk management, and law/policy issues in student affairs. He has previously held adjunct faculty appointments at Northeastern and Suffolk University teaching on the topic of law and higher education. Prior to his tenure in higher education, Bill was engaged in the full time practice of law for approximately ten years. He was a principal in the law firm of Matthews, White & Fischer in New Jersey. Bill is an active member of the Association for Student Conduct Administration (ASCA), having served on its Board of Directors in various capacities for approximately seven years. He is a Past President of the Association. Bill earned his B.A. degree from Villanova University and his J.D. degree from Seton Hall University School of Law.

W. Scott Lewis, J.D.
W. Scott Lewis, J.D. is a partner with The NCHERM Group, LLC and the current president of NaBITA, the National Behavioral Intervention Team Association. He is a founder of ATIXA and a member of its advisory board. He formerly served as the Assistant Vice Provost at the University of South Carolina. Scott brings over fifteen years of experience as a student affairs administrator, faculty member, and consultant in higher education. He is a frequent keynote and plenary speaker, nationally recognized for his work on behavioral intervention for students in crisis and distress. He is noted as well for his work in the area of classroom management and dealing with disruptive students. He presents regularly throughout the country, assisting colleges and universities with legal, conduct, and risk management issues, as well as policy development and implementation. He serves as an author and editor in a number of areas including legal issues in higher education, campus safety and student development, campus conduct board training, and other higher education issues. He is a member of NASPA, ACPA, CAI, SCCPA, and serves on the Board of Directors for ASCA as its Past-President. He did his undergraduate work in Psychology and his graduate work in Higher Education Administration at Texas A&M University and received his Law degree and mediation training from the University of Houston.

John Wesley Lowery, Ph.D.
John Wesley Lowery, Ph.D. is Department Chair and Professor in the Student Affairs in Higher Education Department at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He previously served on the faculties at Oklahoma State University, where he coordinated the college student affairs and higher education programs, and the University of South Carolina, where he taught in and coordinated the Higher Education and Student Affairs (HESA) Program. John has a Master's degree in student personnel services from the University of South Carolina and his undergraduate degree in religious studies is from the University of Virginia. He earned his doctorate at Bowling Green State University in Higher Education Administration. Before beginning his doctoral work in 1996, he was Director of Residence Life at Adrian College in Michigan and University Judicial Administrator at Washington University in St. Louis. John served as ASJA’s (now ASCA) CAS Director for five years. He served on the Board of Directors for both NASPA (2002-2004) and ASJA (1996-1999). He has previously chaired the ASJA’s Legislative Issues and Resolutions Committees as well as co-chairing the Interassociation Task Force on the National Baseline Study on Campus Sexual Assault. John also previously served on the Core Council on Outreach and Advocacy for the American College Personnel Association (ACPA) and on the directorate body of ACPA's Commission XV: Campus Judicial Affairs and Legal Issues. John also currently serves on the Board of Contributors for About Campus. John is the co-author of Navigating Past the “Spirit of Insubordination”: A Twenty-First Century Model Student Conduct Code.

Saundra K. Schuster, J.D.
Saundra K. Schuster, J.D. is a partner with The NCHERM Group, LLC. She is a founder of ATIXA and a member of its advisory board. She was formerly General Counsel for Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio, and Senior Assistant Attorney General for the State of Ohio in the Higher Education Section. Saunie is a recognized expert in preventive law for education, notably in the fields of Sexual Misconduct, First Amendment, Risk Management, Student Discipline, Campus Conduct, Intellectual Property and Employment Issues. Prior to practicing law, Saunie served as the Associate Dean of Students at The Ohio State University. Saunie has more than twenty-five years of experience in college administration and teaching. She frequently presents nationally on legal issues in higher education. Saunie holds Masters degrees in counseling and higher education administration from Miami University, completed her coursework for her Ph.D. at Ohio State University, and was awarded her juris doctorate degree from the Moritz College of Law, The Ohio State University. She a past president of the National Behavioral Intervention Team Association (www.nabita.org).

Brett A. Sokolow, J.D.
Brett A. Sokolow, J.D. is a higher education attorney who specializes in high-risk campus health and safety issues. He is recognized as a national leader on campus sexual violence prevention, response and remediation. He is the founder, president and CEO of The NCHERM Group, LLC, which serves as legal counsel to 35 colleges and universities. Sokolow also serves as the Executive Director of ATIXA, the Association of Title IX Administrators (www.atixa.org) and NaBITA, the National Behavioral Intervention Team Association (www.nabita.org), both of which he co-founded. In 2011, Sokolow also founded SCOPE, the School and College Organization for Prevention Educators (www.wearescope.org), and serves on its advisory board. He is a frequent keynote speaker and often serves as an expert witness on sexual assault, harassment and campus security cases. Sokolow has authored twelve books and more than 50 articles on campus safety and sexual assault. Since its inception in 2000, The NCHERM Group has consulted with more than 3,000 college campuses. Sokolow has also provided strategic prevention programs to students at more than 2,000 college and university campuses on sexual misconduct and alcohol. He has authored the conduct codes of more than seventy-five colleges and universities. The ATIXA Model Sexual Misconduct policy serves as the basis for policies at hundreds of colleges and universities across the country. The NCHERM Group has trained the members of more than 700 conduct hearing boards at colleges and universities in North America. ATIXA has certified more than 2,000 school and campus Title IX Coordinators and civil rights investigators. Additionally, Sokolow serves as a Directorate Body member of the ACPA Commission on Student Conduct and Legal Issues and on the advisory boards of the National Hazing Prevention Collaborative and the NASPA Enough is Enough Campaign. He is a 1993 graduate of the College of William and Mary and a 1997 graduate of the Villanova University School of Law.

Daniel Swinton, J.D., Ed.D.
Daniel Swinton, J.D., Ed.D. is Senior Executive Vice President of The NCHERM Group, LLC and Associate Executive Director of ATIXA. Prior to that, he served as Assistant Dean and Director of Student Conduct and Academic Integrity at Vanderbilt University. He also has served as Associate Counsel to the Vice President for Student Affairs at Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, IN. He received his Bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University, his law degree (J.D.) from the J. Reuben Clark Law School at BYU, and a doctorate (Ed.D.) in higher education leadership and policy from Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College. He is a member of the Tennessee State Bar. He has presented nationally and written on issues such as Title IX, sexual misconduct on college campuses, legal issues in student affairs and higher education, student conduct policies and procedures, mediation and behavioral intervention teams. Daniel also served as president of the Association for Student Conduct Administration (ASCA) in 2010-2011.