Pitt Committed to Providing a Safer Environment on Campus

PITTSBURGH—The University of Pittsburgh is one of 27 member universities of the Association of American Universities (AAU) that participated in a voluntary AAU Campus Climate Survey, the results of which were released today.   Because of its commitment to addressing the issue of sexual violence, Pitt decided to make public the Pitt AAU report.  While Pitt’s results are in line with those of other institutions that participated in the survey, Pitt Chancellor Patrick Gallagher noted that the “results tell a sobering story.”  Chancellor Gallagher said, “Sexual harassment and violence have no place in our University.  We need to take aggressive actions to address this important national issue on our campus, and the survey will give us the data we need to focus our efforts.”

“Sexual violence is counter to the very culture of openness and learning that we seek to establish; it is counter to our values to respect every individual, and it undermines the safety and well-being of the members of our University community,” Gallagher said. He noted that Pitt chose to participate in the survey because it is another tool that the University can use to identify those areas in which it can do better.  “You can’t go on a journey of self-improvement without looking at where you are starting from, and that is what this survey will help us to do.  We will use this data to work toward maintaining a campus environment where sexual violence is prevented and addressed,” he said. 

“While many will make comparisons between the different universities in the survey, I believe our focus should be on using the data to identify areas for improvement and to assess our progress,” Gallagher said.  “After all, the only comparison that should matter is how we compare with our goal of zero incidents of sexual violence at Pitt.”

Gallagher emphasized that while the University believes that the data from this survey will be helpful, Pitt has already made addressing this issue a priority for the past several years.  For Pitt students, the University has worked to educate and prevent sexual misconduct through tailored programming and recurring educational efforts.  Pitt launched a campaign to increase the availability and visibility of the University’s resources and services; significantly expanded the University’s Title IX office; and is currently designing a holistic education, prevention, and response program for students, faculty, and staff.  For example, all new students were required to attend training on alcohol use, sexual assault and bystander intervention during New and Transfer Student Orientation this fall.  In addition, nearly 10,800 faculty and staff have completed a course to provide them with tools needed to recognize and handle sexual misconduct.  (A list of the steps that Pitt has taken to address this issue over the past two years is attached.)

“The survey results make clear that we have much more work to do.” said Chancellor Gallagher.  “The information garnered from the AAU survey will help us develop more effective approaches to creating and maintaining a campus environment that does not tolerate sexual harassment or violence of any type.  The University of Pittsburgh is committed to promoting a culture that protects the safety of our students, staff and faculty,” Gallagher said.

* * * *

Details of the Pitt student responses to the survey can be found at www.pitt.edu/aau-survey