Last fall, Otterbein was awarded a $298,658 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) to improve prevention education, awareness, and victim-survivor services in response to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking (DVSAS) in the Otterbein community.
According to Associate Professor Kristy McCray, “The OVW grant gives us the resources needed to truly shift the campus culture in how we both respond to and work to prevent DVSAS by working as a community. Together with the Westerville Police Department and the Sexual Assault Response Network of Central Ohio (SARNCO), Otterbein will create a Coordinated Community Response team (CCR).”
Grant Director Susan Wismar is overseeing the effort, which includes representatives from Student Affairs, Human Resources (Title IX), the President’s Office, Otterbein Police, Academic Affairs, and more.