National Campus Safety Awareness Month

The mission of the Augustana University Department of Campus Safety is to work with our campus community to create a safe environment for all. While this is a very broad mission, the OVW funding has made it possible for us to create training and prevention programs specifically focused on sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking on campus. Being able to have a focus on these topics allows us the resources to engage the campus community in a proactive way.

Funding from OVW has impacted the Northern Kentucky University campus by opening up the Norse Violence Prevention Center. Over the past three years, there have been many different trainings and programs brought to campus through the funding, and this has had an impact on the students. Without the funding from OVW the campus would not have an outlet for students to receive advocacy services, and the trainings that are offered would probably not be in place. Prior to OVW funding, there were minimal trainings on preventing sexual assault, partner violence, and stalking on our campus. Through the funding, the dynamics of the university have changed and the students are now getting the training they need to prevent sexual assault, partner violence, and stalking from happening.

The OVW funding has already had a significant impact on our campus. Being able to provide 24 hour advocacy to students who are impacted by sexual and relationship violence has made a big difference in the lives of individual students and sends the message to the campus community that this is an important issue and support is available. In addition, creating the CCRT has assisted us in working better as a team to update policies and procedures to be more inclusive and trauma informed, and has increased our ability to collaborate and create engaging and solution focused programing for the whole community. We are looking forward to the next few years when we can fully implement programs, trainings and supports that engage all of our community members in this important work.

OVW funding has enriched our Campus Violence Prevention & Intervention Program tremendously. We are now able to provide our law enforcement officers with a plethora of resources and trainings to aid in making our campus a safe place. We have also been able to organize an outstanding and diverse coordinated community response team, to cooperatively improve the work that we do and to ensure that all of our goals are met.

Thanks to the OVW grant, Augustana University is experiencing exceptional traction with efforts to influence our campus culture in relation to equal opportunity, fairness and safety. As I look back at what we have been able to accomplish in just one year, I highlight four critical outcomes that in large part are a direct result of this campus grant: 1. Confident understanding of our responsibilities with regulatory compliance. 2. Access to best practices and guidance from grant officials, from other grant recipients, and from those who received OVW support in the past. 3. Campus wide support for current initiatives to educate and train students, faculty and staff. 4. Strengthened relationships with our community partners; the Sioux Falls Police Department and Compass Center.

OVW funding has allowed us to truly reach survivors on campus in a sustainable way that provides them with the highest quality advocacy and support services. It has also allowed us to build partnerships across campus that have integrated prevention and awareness work into the student experience from many angles. Our first grant funded the opening of our office, CARE, and enabled us to hire a survivor advocate; when the grant ended the position because fully funded by the university. Halfway through our second grant, we are institutionalizing prevention work with a staffing and support capacity that allows us to go deep.

OVW funding has been fundamental in creating systematic and sustainable efforts on campus to address sexual assault, domestic violence, and stalking. We used to spend a lot of time trying to convince people that we should address these issues. Now we get to focus on how to address these issues. Having the increased support from the campus grant definitely helped create this shift in campus culture.

OVW funding has allowed us to develop surveys and focus groups for two of our unique University populations: undergraduate men and fraternity members. This research will help us design targeted programs that resonate with these populations and promote their effectiveness. Additionally, we will be developing a unique online sexual violence module for all incoming students. This modifiable module will be provided for free to all colleges and universities in the state of Tennessee.

The funding we have received through the OVW has helped us to provide resources to our campus community including judicial and law enforcement training, ongoing preventive efforts for our students, and valuable education for our campus leaders. As we begin strides to engage men, the funding through the OVW grant will provide us again with resources to plan and promote that initiative.