Walsh University recently was awarded a $300,000 continuation grant from the Office on Violence Against Women through the U.S. Department of Justice to expand its efforts to prevent and appropriately respond to incidents of sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence and stalking on campus.
The first grant awarded in 2017 established the Cavalier Safeguard Initiative, a cross-enterprise effort at Walsh University to comprehensively address sexual and relationship violence as well as a strategic plan to inform campus strategies and university policies. The five primary focus areas of the grant and the University’s priorities on these topics include: maintaining a strong Coordinated Community Response Team, enhancing comprehensive prevention efforts, improving victim and survivor services, providing advanced training for all members of law enforcement, Title IX and student conduct.
The Cavalier Safeguard Initiative 2.0: Shifting Campus Culture & Embracing the Conversation will focus now through September 30, 2024, on educating faculty, staff and students, with an emphasis on ensuring services and supports best meet the needs of population-specific groups on campus.
“This grant provides Walsh with resources that are critical to creating a campus culture where all students feel safe, respected and knowledgeable,” said Vice President for Student Affairs Bryan Badar. “As a university with a growing diverse population, we want to take appropriate action and communicate with cultural sensitivity on issues involving sexual misconduct, their rights and resources. To do that, we are coordinating with partners on and off campus to train our staff and bring awareness to the broader campus community. We all have a role in prevention.”
Walsh University is partnering with COMPASS, Domestic Violence Project, Inc. (DVPI), the Stark County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, and the Kinney Center for Autism Education and Support in Merion, Pennsylvania, to implement a cultural movement aimed at fundamentally shifting the way we think, talk about and act in response to the issues of sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence and stalking on campus.
