MSU’s Prevention, Outreach and Education Department was honored with the 2020 Impact Award for their outstanding achievements in sexual assault prevention at the Campus Prevention Network Summit, that was held virtually recently and hosted by EVERFI.
Kelly Schweda, the director of POE, was called-out for her leadership in developing, implementing and sustaining prevention training including online sessions that have reached more than 43,000 campus community members and in-person training that have reached another 27,000 this past academic year.
“I am extremely proud of the work of the POE Department in working to prevent relationship violence and sexual assault on MSU’s campus,” said MSU President Samuel L. Stanley, Jr., M.D who accepted the award on behalf of MSU. “I believe Spartans are more aware and active advocates for a non-violent community than ever before because of the work of this department.”
The university was considered for the award after participating in a comprehensive, research-based assessment of a schools’ prevention programs and initiatives using a tool called the Sexual Assault Diagnostic Inventory. This tool measures campus prevention efforts in place beyond those required by federal law and is designed to evaluate key areas of sexual assault prevention based on research and best practices.
“We have a dynamic team that has worked very hard to go beyond the bounds of required programming and address the climate around campus sexual assault,” said Schweda. “We tailor our prevention programming to our students, faculty and staff to work towards changing culture to ensure a better, more empowered learning and working environment for all.”
POE provides mandatory and requested training for all MSU students, faculty, staff, and auxiliary groups centered around RVSM issues, such as: Sexual Assault & Relationship Violence Prevention Program, the Bystander Network, Online Education Workshop, Greeks Take the Lead Program, and Spartans Against Violence, a student athletes prevention program.
The department, which is housed within the Office for Civil Rights and Title IX Education and Compliance, has grown significantly over the past two years since moving from a one full time employee program in Student Services. POE now has a full team of prevention specialists and more than 100 peer educators who partner with university partners to provide and collaborate on educational programing for employees and students.
