The University of Michigan Center for the Education of Women and our partners announce Campus Sexual Assault Policy: Problems and Progress, a two-day conference to take place on October 25-26, 2012 at the UM North Campus Research Complex. In the context of the April 2011 “Dear Colleague Letter” issued as guidance by the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights, this conference aims to bring together institutional policy makers and community-based sexual assault response professionals to discuss and develop policies addressing student sexual misconduct under Title IX. The conference is designed so that research and promising practices presentations on Day One will inform policy design workshops and policy recommendations on Day Two.

We are pleased to announce that John DiPaolo, Chief of Staff of the Office for Civil Rights, will participate in the conference.

Campus Sexual Assault Policy: Problems and Progress will focus on not only the impact of the Dear Colleague Letter but also the intersection of diversity with campus policy development. We will explore cultural considerations in policy development and the impact of both campus sexual assault and the policies designed to address sexual violence on diverse survivors.

Campus Sexual Assault Policy: Problems and Progress is supported by a grant from the University of Michigan National Center for Institutional Diversity. Additional sponsors include, at UM, the Center for the Education of Women, the CEW Frances and Sydney Lewis Visiting Leaders Fund, Abuse Hurts, the Division of Student Affairs, the Office of Student Conflict Resolution, the Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center, the Office of the Vice President and General Counsel, the Office of Institutional Equity, the Women’s Studies Department, the Institute for Research on Women and Gender, the SHARP Center for Women and Girls, the School of Social Work, and the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. The Michigan Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence and the Michigan Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Prevention and Treatment Board are collaborating partners.