‘It’s On Us PA’ Awards $1 Million to 36 Colleges to Combat Sexual Assault

The Wolf Administration has invested a total of nearly $4 million for It’s On Us grants.

‘It’s On Us PA’ Awards $1 Million to 36 Colleges to Combat Sexual Assault

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Pennsylvanian and national leaders of the “It’s On Us” initiative joined  Pennsylvania Secretary of Education Pedro A. Rivera January 16 to announce nearly $1 million in grants from Governor Tom Wolf’s Administration to combat campus sexual assault at 36 colleges and universities.

It’s On Us is a national initiative championed by President Barack Obama. With today’s announcement, the Wolf Administration has invested a total of nearly $4 million for It’s On Us grants.

Colleges and universities use the grants to create programs ranging from campus-wide training for students, faculty and staff, to institutional campaigns to raise awareness of the reporting process and the resources available to survivors of sexual violence.

The 2019-20 It’s On Us PA recipients include public and private institutions in every corner of the state. The colleges and universities enroll a total of nearly 250,000 students. Of those students, more than 62,000 live on campus.

Last July, Gov. Wolf signed legislation, championed by Rep. Dan Frankel and Sen. Lisa Baker, that requires post-secondary institutions to offer online, anonymous options for students to report sexual assaults. Many of this year’s grant recipients will be using the funds to implement those systems, which must be in place by the end of June.

Also, this year was the first time schools could apply for a research grant. St. Vincent College in Latrobe was awarded a $15,000 research grant to assess the statewide impact of the It’s On Us PA grant program and provide recommendations to improve it.

The 36 postsecondary institutions selected for grants include:

Albright College Lycoming College
Bloomsburg University Manor College
Bryn Mawr College Marywood University
Butler County Community College Mercyhurst University
Chatham University Millersville University
Cheyney University Peirce College
Clarion University Penn State University
Community College of Allegheny County Point Park University
Curtis Institute of Music Rosemont College
East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania Saint Francis University
Gannon University Saint Joseph’s University
Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine Shippensburg University
Holy Family University South Hills School of Business & Technology
Immaculata University St. Vincent College – Research
Indiana University of PA Thiel College
Keystone College University of Pittsburgh
Lehigh University Waynesburg University
Lock Haven University Wilkes University

 

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About the Author

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Robin has been covering the security and campus law enforcement industries since 1998 and is a specialist in school, university and hospital security, public safety and emergency management, as well as emerging technologies and systems integration. She joined CS in 2005 and has authored award-winning editorial on campus law enforcement and security funding, officer recruitment and retention, access control, IP video, network integration, event management, crime trends, the Clery Act, Title IX compliance, sexual assault, dating abuse, emergency communications, incident management software and more. Robin has been featured on national and local media outlets and was formerly associate editor for the trade publication Security Sales & Integration. She obtained her undergraduate degree in history from California State University, Long Beach.

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