Dear Tulane Community:
Next week's fourth annual Shifting the Paradigm event comes at a pivotal time for Tulane University. Last year, we launched the Wave of Change campaign to inform and engage the community about sexual violence and to identify ways to improve prevention and the underlying culture that enables sexual violence.
We are more committed than ever to ending sexual violence in all its forms at Tulane and have dedicated $1 million to positions and programs that address prevention, bolster care and response efforts, and expand research and community engagement. I know that the goal of ending sexual violence is a shared commitment and I invite all of you – students, faculty and staff – to attend this important discussion.
Hosted by student leaders, Shifting the Paradigm will include a presentation of campus sexual misconduct data by Meredith Smith, assistant provost for Title IX and Clery Compliance. You will also hear from Felicia McGinty, vice chair of student affairs at Rutgers University, and co-leader of the expert panel on sexual violence prevention that we convened last year.
And, you will hear from me regarding Tulane's redoubled efforts to prevent sexual misconduct. These efforts include gathering the best ideas of students and faculty from across the university, hiring more staff, dedicating more funding to prevention and survivor support initiatives, introducing new courses on ending sexual assault, creating guides for parents and faculty to talk to students about sexual violence and much, much more.
A paradigm shift occurs when there is a profound change in the usual way of thinking about or doing something. Such a change will only happen through our collective efforts and determination. Students, faculty, staff, parents, alumni – we need ALL Tulanians to be ALL IN to stop sexual assault. Please join us.
