Penn State Receives $30,000 Grant to Combat Campus Sexual Assault

Penn State received a $30,000 grant this week as part of Governor Tom Wolf’s “It’s On Us PA” campaign to combat sexual assault on college campuses.

Penn State is one of the 36 schools in Pennsylvania to receive a grant. Nine universities including Penn State received $30,000, which is the largest amount a school was awarded of the nearly $1 million total.

The Office of Sexual Misconduct Prevention and Response (OSMPR), a unit of Penn State Student Affairs, applied for the grant and was evaluated alongside more than 60 applicants by the Department of Education. The grant will be used across all of Penn State’s campuses, including World Campus.

According to a press release from Penn State, the grant will fund a collection of training and promotional videos about sexual misconduct and sexual violence on campus. Penn State aims to clarify the process of reporting a sexual assault and will highlight resources and support services in the videos.

Partners on the grant include WPSU Penn State, which will produce the videos, the Center for Women Students, the Centre County Women’s Resource Center, the Student Affairs Research and Assessment Office, Residence Life, the Office of Student Orientation and Transition Programs, and the Faculty Senate Special Joint Committee on First Year Student Well-Being and Safety.

The OSMPR hopes the videos will be used university-wide on websites and social media as well as at events and in classrooms. Educational materials also will accompany the longer videos so faculty can use the videos during classroom discussions.