From the President: Gender-Based Violence Prevention Workgroup

Dear Wildcat Community,

CWU will be forming a campus-wide work group to address gender-based violence prevention.

The well-being of our students and employees is a top priority for Central Washington University. To be a model learning community of equity and belonging calls us to work together to continuously evaluate and improve policy and practice.

As our nation grapples with enduring issues related to gender-based violence, several members of the Wildcat community have recently raised concerns about institutional policies and practices that require our careful attention and leadership. To proactively address these concerns, we are taking concrete steps to reinforce CWU's commitment to campus safety.

We also recognize that as we engage deeply in this work, it will be essential to involve our shared governance groups across campus, including ASCWU, Faculty Senate, the Exempt Employee Association, and the Employee Council. By working together, we can address the concerns raised by students and employees related to equity-minded and trauma-informed policy and practice.

In the coming weeks, 12 individuals-equally representative of students, faculty, and staff-will participate in a new gender-based violence prevention work group (see attached) that will help us determine our next steps. Additional measures CWU is taking to address this campus-wide issue include:

• Hiring a new support position in the Title IX office and ensuring student participation on the search committee. This individual will be responsible for preventive education across campus;
• Enhancing communications with students and student leaders on major process updates related to gender-based violence prevention efforts;
• Evaluating our review and accountability processes to close loopholes and promote organizational change;
• Ceasing the use of the Information Disclosure Agreement (which occurred in May 2021);
• Sharing a hard copy booklet with individuals at their initial meeting with the Title IX office and walking them through the Title IX process;
• Working with ASCWU and the faculty/staff shared governance groups to evaluate best practices with regard to Title IX policy, practice, and process;
• Developing recommendations that will assure trauma-informed, equity-centered care, and better align CWU with current and future changes to federal legislation.

We recognize that these are adaptive challenges that will require our shared attention and leadership. Just as we have with every major initiative over the past year and a half, we will arrive at our decisions by involving a wide range of stakeholders across campus.

If you have additional questions or concerns about CWU's Title IX policies and procedures, please consult our Title IX Compliance and Committee webpage. We appreciate your engagement as we take important steps to further elevate campus safety.

Sincerely,

A. James Wohlpart
President