The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is extending a 2018 grant that will help Kalamazoo College continue to proactively prevent domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking on campus.

The DOJ’s Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) oversees the Grants to Reduce Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, Dating Violence and Stalking on Campus Program, which has awarded more than $131 million in grants to higher education institutions since 1999. K was awarded about $300,000, which will continue to:

• Support a Campus Coordinated Community Response Team.
• Expand training for campus safety officers and Title IX investigators.
• Expand victim services.
• Maintain the salary of a full-time project coordinator who will focus on culturally relevant prevention efforts.
• Further enhance the College’s focus on student safety.
• Support a K partnership with the Kalamazoo YWCA and the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety. The partnership allows an advocate to hold hours specifically for K students on campus.

K offers the Green Dot program, funded through the State of Michigan Campus Sexual Assault Grant Program, which provides bystander training that statistically reduces the likelihood of dating and domestic violence, stalking and sexual assault. Sexual Peer Educators at K (SPEAK) delivers presentations on consent, healthy relationships and safe sex. K faculty and staff also build programming around Stalking Awareness Month in January, Sexual Assault Awareness Month in April and Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October. However, the DOJ grant enhances such efforts and others, including the creation of targeted online training programs for students. Such support ensures the programs and training materials are culturally competent with K’s diversity and relevant to its student experiences such as study abroad.

“We’re happy because these grants are very competitive,” said K’s OVW Project Coordinator Haley Mangette. “The award is a reflection of the work the College is already doing and the support we receive from across campus.”

For more information on the DOJ’s efforts in the Campus Program, visit its website. For more information on the grant’s impact at K, visit the Sexual Violence Prevention and Advocacy portion of the College’s website.