State's first lady announces fall summit to be at WMU
KALAMAZOO, Mich.—First lady Sue Snyder announced April 10 that Michigan's fourth "Inform. Empower. Prevent. Let's End Campus Sexual Assault" summit will be held Monday, Sept. 24, at WMU.
"I'm proud of the leadership role Michigan has taken to address the prevalence of sexual assault on our college and university campuses. These statewide summits are an important part of our work to raise awareness and prevention efforts to ultimately change the culture and put an end to campus sexual assault," Snyder said in making the announcement.
"Western Michigan University has been a tremendous partner in our work to address this critical issue. I'm excited to host our fourth summit at WMU and look forward to focusing our efforts this year on best practices for prevention and response to sexual assault."
Snyder also made an unannounced visit to the April 18 WMU Board of Trustees meeting to promote the upcoming summit and once again thank the University for hosting it.
The daylong event has the goal of continuing Michigan's leadership role in the fight against sexual assault among the college-age population. It is part of an ongoing campaign to inform communities, empower individuals and ultimately bring an end to campus sexual assault.
"We're pleased to host this campus sexual assault summit at WMU and believe it is vitally important that we keep this conversation going," says WMU President Edward Montgomery. "These summits have helped foster real change and the development of best practices for use across the nation. But this work must continue, and we need to remain vigilant to ensure our students and community can feel safe at our University."
On a related front, Gov. Rick Snyder recently proclaimed April Sexual Assault Awareness Month and joined with the first lady to announce the "MI Pledge" awareness campaign. Visit endcampussexualassault.com to learn more and sign the pledge.
Summit details, registration options, speakers and a full agenda will be updated in the coming weeks and published at endcampussexualassault.com. Those interested may sign up now at that website to receive registration information. Resources for campus sexual assault survivors, and family members and friends, are available at michigan.gov/campussexualassault.
For more WMU news, arts and events, visit wmich.edu/news.