Sexual Assault, Relationship Violence Focus of Two-Day Summit at Tennessee State University

Tennessee State University President Glenda Glover addresses participants at a two-day summit on sexual assault on college campus, during opening ceremonies in Poag Auditorium on the main campus. (Photo by Emmanuel Freeman, TSU Media Relations)

NASHVILLE (TSU News Service) – Tennessee State University President Glenda Glover Tuesday welcomed more than 400 representatives from 76 universities, colleges and organizations across the state to a two-day summit on campus sexual assault.

The summit, featuring national experts on sexual assault prevention and complying with changing federal laws, includes customized tracks for campus police, student support services providers, and Title IX investigators.

The Tennessee Board of Regents, the Tennessee Independent Colleges and Universities Association, and the University of Tennessee System, in partnership with the Tennessee Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence, are sponsoring the summit.

“We are especially delighted and honored that you selected Tennessee State University for this all important summit,” President Glover said, as she presented TBR Chancellor John Morgan. “Sexual assault is a very serious issue, and every member of our campus community has a responsibility to not only know how to prevent it, but also how to respond to it.”

Dr. Glover thanked the summit planners and facilitators from across the state, including the TSU offices of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action, and Student Affairs for their contributions.

“Your contribution to this gathering is well noted. Your efforts demonstrate that we must be ready to take every step necessary to support our students when they need us,” the President added.

According to the TBR, the summit also solidifies a partnership between the state’s higher education community and Tennessee’s leading private, non-profit sexual assault coalition.

“Through the development and implementation of effective prevention and awareness programs and campaigns, the statewide partnership will enhance the efforts of Tennessee’s higher education institutions to focus on student safety at all levels,” a TBR release stated.

The summit covers topics ranging from “Domestic and Dating Violence 101” to bystander intervention and the psychological and biological effects of sexual assaults.

Keynote speakers include: Katie Koestner, executive director of the Take Back the Night Foundation and Campus Outreach Services and the first survivor of acquaintance rape to speak out nationally. Others include S. Daniel Carter, director of the 32 National Campus Safety Initiative formed by the families of the victims and survivors of the Virginia Tech tragedy; Connie Kirkland, director of sexual assault services at Northern Virginia Community College and contributing author of the 2014 NCAA guide “Addressing Sexual Assault and Interpersonal Violence,” Jim Hopper, consultant and instructor of psychology at Harvard Medical School specializing in the psychological and biological effects of sexual assault and serving on the congressionally-mandated Peace Corps Sexual Assault Advisory Council, and Kayce Matthews, program specialist with the Tennessee Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence.

The summit concludes on Wednesday.

Department of Media Relations

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