Marywood University Receives "It's On Us PA" Grant

Continuing his commitment to combating sexual assault, Govern Tom Wolf announced today that 37 institutions of higher education are receiving “It’s On US” Pennsylvania grants of up to $30,000 each. Marywood University is receiving $29,941. The governor established “It’s on Us PA,'' the nation’s first statewide campaign, nearly five years ago and has made Pennsylvania a national leader in improving campus safety.

Governor Wolf said, “Sexual violence will not be tolerated. All colleges and universities must be safe for students. The ‘It’s On Us PA’ grant program was created to provide colleges and universities with support and resources necessary to shift campus culture and promote healthy relationships.”

The grants provide funding from January 2021 through May 2022 to implement strategies on campuses to address goals of the Governor’s “It’s On Us PA” campaign, which include: improving awareness, prevention, reporting, and response systems regarding sexual violence in schools, colleges, and universities to better serve all students; removing/reducing barriers that prevent survivors of sexual violence from reporting and/or accessing vital resources by creating a more consistent, empowering reporting process for student survivors of gender-based violence; and demonstrating significant, proactive, and sustainable leadership to change campus culture by challenging Pennsylvania’s education leaders—including college and university presidents, as well as students, teachers, faculty, staff, families, and communities—to pledge to improve their institutions’ climate around sexual assault.

Marywood University will meet the Governor’s goals by engaging a program consultant to develop a long-term sustainable mode of awareness, prevention, reporting strategies and trauma informed response system; minimizing barriers to anonymous reporting by students, faculty, and staff by institutionalizing Maxient Conduct Manager software as a reporting tool; widely disseminating Marywood University reporting procedures to all students, faculty, and staff;  revising the Promoting Awareness of the College Transition program (PACT) to include new Title IX regulations; enhancing sensitivity to diverse student groups; and putting an emphasis on reporting procedures, as well as the post-reporting trauma informed protocols used to support victims of sexual violence.

Brandice Ricciardi, coordinator of the “It’s On Us PA” project at Marywood University, said, “We—myself and two co-coordinators, Ross Novak, dean of students, and Yerodin Lucas, director of equity and inclusion and Title IX coordinator, are elated to receive the ‘It’s On Us PA’ grant for the third consecutive year. This grant helps all of us at Marywood in sustaining a safe, secure campus.

Gov. Wolf said, “Students, staff, and educators across the Commonwealth have done tremendous work through ‘It’s On Us PA’ to protect learning environments and ensure they are free from sexual assault, harassment, and violence. These grants will further build on the work they have done to hold people accountable.”