News

The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Office of Student Affairs has received a $300,000 Department of Justice grant through the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). The grant will fund the SIUE Survivor Support Initiative to utilize education for prevention of sexual assault and increase student awareness of victims’ services.

“The purpose of the grant is to provide on-going training to our student body, increase resources for students and provide annual training to faculty and staff, who work with students who report sexual assault,” said Jeffrey Waple, PhD and vice chancellor for student affairs. “Special thanks to Jim Klenke (associate vice chancellor for student affairs), Lindsay Serrano (SIUE counseling services), Dustin Brueggemann (SIUE police lieutenant) and former faculty member Dayna Henry, who were the principle grant writers.”

Grant funding will be used to attain three goals:

• Increase awareness of and access to prevention information and victims services
• Prevent incidence of sexual assault experienced by SIUE students
• Coordinate current and proposed efforts to respond to sexual assault committed toward SIUE students

“I wish to express my thanks to all those who led in writing and coordinating the grant application, including Vice Chancellor Waple,” said Dr. Randy Pembrook, SIUE chancellor. “This grant will allow SIUE to do even more in raising awareness about this important national issue. The efforts of the Student Affairs team are to be applauded for this outstanding outcome.”

SIUE seeks to expand the already established sexual assault task force, renamed the Coordinated Community Care Response Team (C³RT), by including new community members such as the Edwardsville Police Dept., Anderson Hospital SANE nurses, Scott Air Force Base representatives and the Madison County State’s Attorney Office. SIUE will also strengthen connections with Call For Help’s Sexual Assault Victim Care Unit and increase its involvement in prevention and awareness programming, policy development and survivor support.

A project coordinator will develop and implement sexual assault prevention and education programming on campus as well as develop tailored trainings designed to meet the needs of underserved students (those with disabilities, international students, students who identify as LGBTQ and men) on campus. They will develop and oversee a peer mentoring and education program, using evidenced-based methods to most effectively address sexual assault on campus.

The coordinator will collaborate with campus and community partners to implement a campus-wide, accessible and visible campaign regarding sexual assault services, resources and awareness.