ESU Awarded It’s On Us PA Grant

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Posted by: Elizabeth Richardson on January 18, 2019, No Comments

East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania has received funding through the 2018-19 Governor’s It’s On Us PA Grant Program from the Governor’s Office and the Pennsylvania Department of Education. This is second year ESU has received It’s On Us PA Grant funding.

Governor Tom Wolf launched the “It’s On Us PA” campaign on January 29, 2016, inviting education leaders and all Pennsylvanians to play a role in ending sexual violence on college campuses. The Governor’s It’s On Us PA Grant Program aims to support postsecondary institutions’ efforts to create campus environments in which all community members are informed, active bystanders working together to end sexual violence, and where survivors are able to access the rights, resources, and accommodations afforded to them through state and federal law.

“Nationally, sexual violence affects an estimated one in five college women and one in 20 college men,” said Vice President of Student Affairs and Title IX coordinator, Doreen Tobin, D.Ed. Sexual assault affects the health and well-being of survivors, and can also derail a student’s educational success. “ESU is committed to improving our campus culture by increasing awareness about sexual violence while reducing barriers to our reporting process, which can negatively impact survivors,” Dr. Tobin said.

ESU was awarded a grant of $28,970. These funds will be used for initiatives such as training programs for university staff and student members of Step Up!, required programs for new students about consent, and awareness campaigns. Funding will also be used to purchase an online data management system. The system will help create its own online reporting form for sexual assault and intimate partner violence. “This will allow us to reduce the barriers associated with reporting any sexual violence and/or Title IX incidents,” Tobin said. “A data management system would allow ESU to advance in its data collection within student conduct and community standards, allowing us to understand the trends at ESU and how we can better address them.”