Grants received from the Michigan State Police totaling $99,200 will fund the addition
of a Violence Prevention Coordinator in Ferris State University's Office of Student
Life and a series of security and surveillance cameras on the Big Rapids campus.The Anti-Violence Alliance initiative based in Ferris State University’s Office of
Student Life will benefit from professional expertise and new technology through the
successful acquisition of two Michigan State Police grants.
Student Life Project Manager Ashley Schulte said $99,200 awarded by the Let’s End
Campus Sexual Assault program includes support for a full-time Violence Prevention
Coordinator position.
“We are thrilled to continue building capacity in our anti-violence work by adding
this coordinator to our team,” Schulte said. “They will join more than 30 members
of the Anti-Violence Alliance in new and ongoing initiatives and spend a significant
amount of time working with our student peer educators.”
What began as Ferris’ Anti-Violence Coalition now boasts more than 30 members, but
the seed money for the effort came from the first cycle of this grant program in 2019.
“Last year, we focused on building a team comprised of students, faculty, and staff
to increase our knowledge and prevention efforts across the university,” Schulte said.
“This most recent funding allows us to elevate and expand on that work with the addition
of a full-time violence prevention coordinator, who will report in the Office of Student
Life.”
Responsibilities for the coordinator will include forming Ferris’ Coordinated Community
Response Team, leading the continued implementation and expansion of prevention education
programs, and enhancing education and intervention resources and services for main-campus
Ferris students, Kendall College of Art and Design students, and the university’s
22 statewide locations.
Schulte said the other grant awarded to the university funds installation of an array
of security and surveillance cameras on the Big Rapids campus.
“This is an important element of enhancing on-campus security,” Schulte said. “The
project will allow for enhanced evidence collection and cooperation and is an asset
that will benefit Ferris for years to come, thanks to this one-year grant.”