Follow Us
If you're having accessibility issues, please let us know.
Prevention, Outreach and Education Department
Office for Civil Rights and Title IX Education and Compliance
In the 2023–2024 academic year, the Prevention, Outreach and Education Department hosted the Big Ten Prevention and Response Gathering for the second time. This inspiring event brings together practitioners from institutions across the country to collaborate, network, and support one another. This year, we were joined by two additional institutions joining the Big Ten — the University of Oregon and the University of Washington — expanding opportunities for creative collaboration even further. POE also celebrated an important milestone: 15 years of dedicated prevention efforts and 5 years as an established department within the Office for Civil Rights, Title IX Education and Compliance. The celebration, held on April 5th, 2024, brought together friends, family, and supporters of prevention efforts at Michigan State University. The event provided time to celebrate and uplift the critical work of this dynamic team while reflecting on our continued growth, innovation, and vision for the future of prevention programming.
If you're having accessibility issues, please let us know.
SPARTANS WILL|© Michigan State University|
In the 2022–2023 academic year, the Prevention, Outreach and Education Department grew by two additional positions to enhance initiatives and collaborations with faculty, staff, and graduate students. POE now consists of three distinct branches: Undergraduate Student Services, the Climate and Response Team, and the Faculty, Staff, and Graduate Student Services Team. Each branch is led by dynamic leaders and dedicated team members who empower and educate the Spartan community to end gender-based violence. Additionally, we were proud to welcome Laura Rugless as the new Vice President for the Office for Civil Rights, Title IX Education and Compliance. Under her leadership, the POE Department will continue to find innovative ways to strengthen partnerships and build collaborations across our campus and the nation.
The POE team continues to deliver a tremendous amount of programming. While some programs remained virtual throughout the year, others transitioned to hybrid or in-person formats. Each shift required significant behind-the-scenes work, reflecting the time, dedication, and collaboration of both our POE staff and Peer Educator team.
The 2021–2022 academic year also included the creation of three major strategic plans across the university. The POE Department played a key role in the RVSM Strategic Plan and is featured under several different initiatives. In addition, both the MSU 2030 Strategic Plan and the DEI Strategic Plan provided opportunities for us to reflect as a department on our continued commitment to student, faculty, and staff success at MSU. How POE aligns with all three strategic plans is described in more detail inside this report.
POE delivered a tremendous amount of in-person and online learning opportunities. Despite working remotely, the team managed the time-consuming process of transitioning all programming into virtual formats while preserving the personalized, “live” components that make our trainings so dynamic. Our Peer Educator team of undergraduate students went above and beyond expectations—training online, supporting one another, and learning to facilitate virtual sessions that make our students’ learning experiences both engaging and supportive. This year was especially challenging for staff and students alike, and their continued dedication to ending sexual and relationship violence at MSU remains truly inspiring.
During the 2019-2020 year, the POE department was awarded the Impact Award by the Campus Prevention Network for excellence in campus sexual assault prevention. The department was celebrated during the national Campus Prevention Network conference as MSU President Stanley accepted the award. POE was highlighted for both its innovative programming as well as its dedication to becoming a national model for excellence and dedication to violence prevention. This second annual report will provide an overview and update of current programming as well as outlining new programs and initiatives.
Since it’s inception in 2018, the Prevention, Outreach and Education (POE) Department has been committed to safety through educating members of the MSU campus community on sexual assault and relationship violence, eliminating violence on campus, empowering staff, faculty and students to become advocates for a non-violent community, and positively affecting social change. This annual report –the first for the department—will give a comprehensive overview of 10 initiatives focused on achieving this mission.