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Elizabeth Sharrow, associate professor of public policy and history, and James Druckman, of the University of Rochester, have received the 2024 Gladys M. Kammerer Award for their book, “Equality Unfulfilled: How Title IX's Policy Design Undermines Change to College Sports” (Cambridge University Press, July 2023), examining the half-century legacy of the law’s passage. The award, presented annually by the American Political Science Association (APSA), recognizes the best book published in the field of U.S. national policy.

While the 1972 passage of Title IX, outlawing sex-based discrimination in education, is often hailed as an inflection point for women’s rights, Sharrow and Druckman argue that 50 years later, the institutions that govern college athletics undermine initiatives for advancing gender equality.

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Drawing on surveys with student-athletes, athletic administrators, college coaches, members of the public and fans of college sports, “Equality Unfulfilled” highlights how institutions shape attitudes toward gender equity policy. It offers novel lessons not only for those interested in college sports but for everyone seeking to understand the barriers that any marginalized group faces in their quest for equality.

The publication “stands out this year as the best book in U.S. policymaking for its courage in taking on such a universally lauded public policy and asking readers to consider its shortcomings,” the APSA award committee noted. “This work is an impressive piece of scholarship about an important and relevant subject that is sure to incite wide conversation.” 

Sharrow and Druckman will be presented with the Kammerer Award at the APSA Annual Meeting in Philadelphia on Sept. 4. 

The book was also honored by the Society of Professors of Education in the American Education Research Association with the 2024 Outstanding Book Award.

“Equality Unfulfilled” is available from booksellers everywhere.