Susquehanna University has been awarded $375,000 to continue its work to prevent sexual assault and relationship violence on campus.
The funding is a continuation of the university’s 2018 and 2020 grants from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women.
“This grant gives Susquehanna University a large platform to build upon all of the promising work we’ve undertaken since the Violence Intervention and Prevention Center’s founding in 2018,” said Wynn Phillips ’20, director of violence prevention.
The three-year funding will allow the university to:
- Provide all students with training opportunities to understand consent and how to be an active bystander, identify signs and behaviors of unhealthy or abusive relationships, and know their resources on campus.
- Broaden the reach of the VIP Center’s Green Dot bystander intervention programming.
- Create educational resources for students navigating processes such as Title IX.
- Increase culturally specific programs to better serve students of color, international students, and LGBTQ+ students.
- Provide employees with resources and training to feel confident in reporting and modeling a culture of consent for campus community members.
- Continue its partnership with Transitions of PA, providing for an on-campus advocate for up to 20 hours per week.
Wynn Phillips ’20, director of violence preventionAfter graduating from Susquehanna with a degree in psychology, Phillips continued to Widener University, where she earned two master’s degrees — one in human sexuality with a focus in sex education and another in counseling education. She joined the staff at Susquehanna in 2023.
“I thought I was going to be a school counselor in a high school, but I quickly realized that parents weren’t ready for their children to be having what can be difficult conversations around body autonomy and consent,” Phillips said. “When my position became available at Susquehanna, I thought, ‘What would be better than to bring this education, which I know is essential, to the community where I learned so much about myself?’”
Since her tenure began, the VIP Center and its sponsored programs have interacted with more than 2,000 members of the campus community through training and programming on topics ranging from understanding consent to explaining sexual misconduct and gender-based violence.
In addition to the funding Phillips secured from the Department of Justice, she also secured a $37,100 grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s It’s On Us PA campaign in January 2024 to combat campus sexual assault and violence.
Beyond funding, Phillips, who is a survivor herself, has reinvigorated the VIP Center as a safe place any campus community member can visit, whether they need access to educational resources, decompress in the center’s wellness room or seek support after a troubling experience.
“In a diverse and dynamic environment like a university, students are not only building academic knowledge and life skills but also shaping their values and interactions,” Phillips said. “By teaching students about the importance of consent and addressing the realities of gender violence, we empower them to advocate for themselves and others, fostering a community where healthy relationships and personal boundaries are respected.”
