Lackawanna College Receives ‘It’s On Us PA’ Grant

SCRANTON, Pa. – Jan. 22, 2019 – Lackawanna College received a grant award of over $25,000 as part of Governor Tom Wolf’s 2018-2019 It’s On Us PA grant program. This is the second time Lackawanna College has received this grant. The College joins 38 postsecondary institutions across the state slated to receive this funding, which helps colleges and universities address and respond effectively to sexual violence on campus.

To support the Governor’s It’s On Us PA campaign, Lackawanna College will launch its “It’s On Us, LC” initiative. The project will include a variety of sexual violence awareness events during “the red zone”, the first six weeks of the fall semester, a time when students, particularly freshmen, are most likely to experience sexual assault on college campuses.

“It’s our responsibility to create a campus culture where prevention and awareness of sexual violence and harassment is the first priority,” said Marsha Pigga, Lackawanna College Executive Director of the Student Wellness Program & Title IX Coordinator. “With the support of the ‘It’s On Us PA Grant’, we will strengthen our initiatives to encourage a campus-wide effort that will provide an accessible prevention and support system. All initiatives we put in place will demonstrate Lackawanna’s complete commitment to the safety of everyone in our campus community.”

As part of the initiative, College faculty and staff will receive training by the Association of Title IX Administrators (ATIXA), which complies with Title IX laws to teach faculty, employees, and staff members how to approach and prevent sexual assault situations.

Training will be completed by at least one staff or faculty member at each satellite center and by all members of Lackawanna’s Sexual Misconduct Assault Response Team (SMART). All Lackawanna employees, including public safety staff, will be invited to complete ATIXA Title IX Training during the project period.

In addition to events, “It’s on Us, LC” pamphlet holders will be installed at the College’s main campus and its satellite centers. The pamphlet holders will provide a variety of sexual violence awareness, prevention, reporting and survivor resources, and will increase the College community’s access to sexual violence information.

All initiatives will educate, engage, and serve Lackawanna’s students, faculty and staff and improve the College’s current sexual violence response systems.

The It’s On Us PA campaign, launched in 2016 by Governor Tom Wolf, was pioneered during the Obama administration. 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.

About Lackawanna College:

Founded in 1894, Lackawanna College is a private, accredited college serving the people of northeastern Pennsylvania. With a main campus situated in downtown Scranton, Lackawanna’s expanding footprint also includes satellite centers in Hawley, Hazleton, New Milford, Sunbury, and Towanda. Learn more at www.lackawanna.edu.