Mansfield University Receives ‘It’s On Us PA’ Grant

MANSFIELD, PA  – Mansfield University has been awarded a grant for 2018-2019 by the Governor’s Office and the Pennsylvania Department of Education for Governor Wolf’s It’s On Us PA Grant Program. Along with 37 other institutions of higher education in the Commonwealth, Mansfield University will implement the It’s On Us PA program to prevent, address, and respond effectively to sexual violence.

“We have applied for this grant the past 4 years, and with the help of our Grants and Sponsored Programs Director Phil Swank, we finally received the funding for Mansfield University,” said Dean of Students Frank Crofchick. “The It’s on Us PA Grant Program will provide Mansfield with over $23,000 to enhance our expand our efforts in Title IX and sexual misconduct awareness, and programming for our students and community in the near future.”

Swank added, “Thank you Governor Wolf and the Department of Education for your leadership and commitment to ensuring the safety, well-being, and success of Pennsylvania’s next generation of leaders.”

Encouraging healthy relationships among students is a very high priority at Mansfield University. Unfortunately, the prevalence of sexual violence nationwide is alarming. Studies indicate that sexual violence affects an estimated one in five college women and one in 20 college men. Sexual assault affects the health and well-being of survivors, and can also derail a student’s educational success. Recognizing that this violence and the unconscionable cost it poses to individual survivors and communities is unacceptable, Governor Tom Wolf launched the “It’s On Us PA” campaign on January 29, 2016, inviting education leaders and all Pennsylvanians to play a role in ending sexual violence.

The Governor’s It’s On Us PA Grant Program aims to support postsecondary institutions’ efforts to create campus environments in which all community members are informed, active bystanders working together to end sexual violence, and where survivors are able to access the rights, resources, and accommodations afforded to them through state and federal law.