Holy Family University Receives Title IX Grant Funding for Second Year

Holy Family University was awarded an It’s On Us PA Grant through the Governor’s Office in conjunction with the Pennsylvania Department of Education on January 9, 2019. The grant money, totaling $29,960, will help support continuing education for the Tigers that ROAR program.

The grant will be used to create a “Tigers Are…” video series that asks our campus to reflect and share why being a Tiger is important to them, what positive behaviors are expected of a Tiger, and why sexual violence should be every person's concern within our community. This is the second year in a row Holy Family University has been awarded grant money to fund new Title IX projects.

Launched last year, the University’s Tigers that ROAR program is a campus campaign focused on engaging the community in the conversation around sexual violence. Through the program, the University has been able to create intentional programming, training, and structured conversation that gives the community the tools to recognize, respond, and report instances of misconduct. The program has also given Holy Family an opportunity to emphasize the importance of cultivating a culture of respect and inclusion, and has provided the campus with a unifying message. 

“The Tigers that ROAR program has been successful in its combination of passive and active educational opportunities, and brought a sense of community to the campus in the learning process,” said Marianne Price, Title IX Coordinator. “I am committed to seeing our University continue to make strides in our commitment to sexual violence prevention, education, and support. The work we are doing through my office has created collaborative opportunities for the entire campus to be a part of this work. I am grateful to the PA Governor's Office in its commitment to really shifting momentum for colleges and universities across our state in their efforts to create change.”

The funds will also help support continuing education for key administrators to support students in these roles, expand programming efforts, and to disseminate a comprehensive sexual assault campus climate survey to ascertain perceptions of faculty and staff related to how the University addresses and responds to instances of sexual violence.

“I look forward to continuing our focus on empowering our campus community to have a voice,” Price said. “I believe that through community-driven and unified Tigers that ROAR initiatives, we can offer space to create common experiences, offer more opportunity for knowledge, expand our programming efforts, and provide access to important training resources. The Holy Family University community has been amazing in its support of these initiatives, and I am so thankful to be a part of a community that embraces this work.”

According to the Department of Education, “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.”