Apr 29, 2015

UNI ROTC and Center for Violence Prevention partnership makes a big impact

The University of Northern Iowa's Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) and the Center for Violence Prevention (CVP) have joined together for the past two years to make great strides to prevent sexual assault. The partnership has allowed the CVP to conduct two conferences that teach Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP) training to cadets across the Midwest. MVP training teaches techniques on how to be an active bystander and how to be a leader in preventing sexual violence.

"The Center for Violence Prevention is a natural partner with our ROTC constituents at UNI and across the state as we are assisting their leadership to create a safe and respectful climate free from sexual harassment and assault for all cadets," said Alan Heisterkamp, interim director of the Center for Educational Transformation.

More than 500 leaders from campuses, communities and the military have been impacted through the partnership. It is expected that 1,000 leaders will be impacted after scheduled trainings and events in April.

Some of the additional training and events that have strengthened this partnership include:

  • The 2014 military-focused Y Factor Men's Summit at UNI. More than 145 military, university and community leaders gathered to discuss their roles and responsibilities to prevent sexual violence. This year's summit was April 22 at the University of Iowa.

  • A 2014 lecture by Jackson Katz, co-founder of the MVP program. Katz presented "More Than a Few Good Men: A Lecture on American Manhood and Violence Against Women" to a crowd of UNI students, faculty and staff, Army ROTC members and the community.

  • Tactical training for more than 300 cadets from Iowa and Nebraska. This group recently traveled to Camp Dodge in Des Moines to conduct training, which included MVP training. Cadets now have bystander skills to prevent sexual violence on their campuses, in their communities and eventually in the Army.

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The University of Northern Iowa has been recognized by two independent organizations, TeachTomorrow.org and BestColleges.com, as offering online graduate programs in education that rank in the top 20 in the country for 2015. UNI placed 13th and 17th, respectively.