Allegheny County – December 13, 2024 – Today, Senator Wayne Fontana announced that three colleges in his district will receive grants for programs to combat sexual assault on campus from the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s It’s On Us PA program.
“I am happy to announce this grant money to support the efforts these great institutions are making to address sexual assault,” said Sen. Fontana. “Parents must feel safe dropping their kids off on campus. This money will assist programs that create safe environments on campus.”
The colleges that will receive It’s On Us PA grants:
- Community College of Allegheny County – $60,000.
- Duquesne University – $40,000.
- Point Park University – $40,000.
Institutions use grant funds to implement strategies on their campuses to address the goals of Governor Shapiro’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 or 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.
- 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.
In total, PDE awarded $1.6 million to 44 colleges and universities across the commonwealth. You can see the awards and learn more about It’s On Us PA grants here.
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