January 29, 2016
State System applauds Gov. Wolf’s ‘It’s On Us PA’ campaign
Contact: Kevin Hensil, khensil@passhe.edu
Harrisburg – The following statement from Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education Chancellor
Frank T. Brogan is offered in support of Gov. Tom Wolf’s “It’s On Us PA” initiative
designed to raise awareness of and to prevent sexual violence:
“We applaud Gov. Wolf for calling even greater attention to this vitally important
issue—one that our 14 universities have been working hard to address. We support the
Governor’s ‘It’s On Us PA’ initiative and look forward to working with him and his
administration to continue to raise awareness of and to increase efforts to prevent
campus sexual violence. Most important, we remain committed to the fight against sexual
violence so that no one becomes a victim to this terrible crime in the future.”
The State System universities are addressing the issue of sexual violence in a variety
of ways:
•Each of the 14 universities has adopted a Title IX policy that addresses sexual assault,
domestic violence, dating violence and stalking.
•The universities provide educational programming for students, faculty and staff,
as well as prevention education programs conducted by Title IX coordinators, university
safety officers and university health and wellness center personnel. Some of the educational
programs utilize social media to help reach the largest audience possible.
•The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference’s “It’s On Us” campaign has produced a
public service announcement featuring student athletes from all of the State System
universities.
•The universities work closely with local rape crisis centers to provide victim advocate
services for impacted students.
•In addition to ongoing research being conducted by a number of State System university,
Indiana University of Pennsylvania in recent years has received a total of $650,000
from the U.S. Department of Justice to develop awareness, education, training and
support programs for survivors of violence, including sexual assault.
•Many of the universities have victim advocates on campus and have peer education
programs where students are educating their peers on this and other important issues.
•An assessment of System-wide compliance with state and federal laws and policies
has been conducted; a representative from the Office of the Chancellor has met with
every campus Title IX team to learn about campus engagement and compliance relative
to Title IX issues.
•The State System’s Board of Governors in January 2015 adopted a comprehensive Protection
of Minors Policy that brings together a broad range of efforts to ensure the safety
and security of minors who spend time on the university campuses, acting in advance
of the implementation of recent state laws in this area.
•The State System partnered with Stop it Now!, a national organization dedicated to
the prevention of child victimization to develop a model program for higher education,
training dozens of on-campus personal to help recognize and prevent incidents of potential
abuse.
•All State System university employees are designated as mandatory reporters of child
abuse.
From State System spokesman Kenn Marshall:
“The State System universities have been proactive in addressing the issue of sexual
violence. They have implemented a variety of education and safety-awareness programs
for students who live both on and off-campus, and we are committed to continuing and
expanding upon those efforts.
“Nothing is more important than ensuring the safety and well-being of everyone on
our campuses, especially our students, the vast majority of whom not only come to
our universities to receive an education, but also make our campus communities their
home while doing so. They deserve to feel safe, and to be safe, while they are there.”
Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education is the largest provider of higher
education in the Commonwealth, with about 107,000 degree-seeking students and thousands
more who are enrolled in certificate and other career-development programs. Collectively,
the 14 universities that comprise the State System offer more than 2,300 degree and
certificate programs in more than 530 academic areas. Nearly 520,000 State System
university alumni live in Pennsylvania.
The State System universities are Bloomsburg, California, Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg,
Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Millersville, Shippensburg, Slippery
Rock and West Chester Universities of Pennsylvania. The universities also operate
branch campuses in Oil City (Clarion), Freeport and Punxsutawney (IUP), and Clearfield
(Lock Haven), and offer classes and programs at several regional centers, including
the Dixon University Center in Harrisburg and in Center City in Philadelphia.