Since the beginning of Fall 2023, School of Education Dean Kelly Chandler-Olcott has been working alongside Rob Hradsky, vice president for student engagement in Student Experience, as the new co-chair of the Chancellor’s Task Force on Sexual and Relationship Violence.
Kelly Chandler-Olcott
In a conversation with SU News, Chandler-Olcott says she is impressed by those working on the task force and their commitment to the University’s initiatives in this area.
The task force addresses sexual and relationship violence prevention, education and advocacy services. The task force’s leadership, situated in both the areas of academics and student experience, represents an overarching, Universitywide focus on engaging the entire campus community in a collective and holistic effort to prevent and respond to sexual and relationship violence.
The task force consists of a cross-section of dedicated students, faculty and staff who come together monthly during the academic year. The members collaborate in working pillar groups, covering the areas of survivor support, clear policies, multitiered education, public disclosure, schoolwide mobilization and ongoing assessment.
Chandler-Olcott succeeds former Falk College Dean Emerita Diane Lyden Murphy, who concluded her tenure as co-chair after serving since 2017.
SU News sat down with Chandler-Olcott to find out how the experience has been so far as a task force member:
As your first year on the Chancellor’s Task Force on Sexual and Relationship Violence ends, what are some key takeaways from this experience?
I’ve been surprised—and impressed—by how many people working in different corners of our campus care deeply about this topic and related issues. We have a lot of varied expertise to draw on, and it’s well-coordinated within the task force, where people keep showing up consistently to collaborate.
What have you enjoyed most about being part of the task force?
I’ve been surprised, and impressed again, by how seriously members take the work in the six pillar groups to which we are all assigned. I’ve been working with the public disclosure group, which, in full disclosure, I thought was a pretty dry topic at first. But the group has raised numerous complex issues that have turned out to be very compelling to think about, and the members are just good University citizens overall. Reuniting with them each month is really a delight, even though the information we discuss can sometimes be quite heavy.
What is one thing you want members of the campus community to understand about the task force?
The task force is working behind the scenes on important initiatives that are making our campus safer and more welcoming, even when you can’t see that work because of privacy and communication constraints.
During a recent task force meeting, Leslie Skeffington, assistant director for sexual and relationship violence prevention, recognized the Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) planning committee and the Barnes Center at The Arch for their hard work in hosting a series of new events. The events, which were well attended by students, included the following:
In addition to these new events, the pillar event, Take Back The Night (TBTN), was completely reformatted this year, focusing on creating a space for healing and community building. Additionally, offices, departments and student organizations across campus demonstrated their solidarity and allyship in the fight to end sexual and relationship violence with #IWillTBTN stars instead of the traditional posters that have been used in the past.
“While society has made a lot of progress, there’s still a stigma attached to talking about sexual violence and programming like this creates an opportunity to raise public awareness about the continued prevalence of sexual violence in our culture,” says Skeffington. “SAAM provides a platform for communities to show support for survivors, advocate for change and work toward creating a culture of consent, respect and empowerment for all.”
