December 2015

We are delighted to share exciting news about the future direction of Culture of Respect.  NASPA, the national nonprofit organization of student affairs administrators in higher education, will be acquiring our organization in the coming weeks. NASPA represents 2,000 colleges and universities and over 15,000 individual college staff members; no organization is better positioned to actualize the Culture of Respect mission for the largest possible number of students. We have the utmost respect for NASPA’s President, Kevin Kruger, and are honored that NASPA has selected Culture of Respect as their gold standard for prevention and response to campus sexual assault.

Through Culture of Respect’s research-informed approach, we are confident that partnering with colleges and universities to create on-the-ground change will lead to a cultural shift on all American campuses. Recognizing that systemic change requires leadership and commitment from the top down, our Advisory Board member David Lisak states, “If higher education steps up to its moral obligation, it can make a historic contribution to the struggle to contain sexual violence. No other institution is as well placed to take us into a new and far more sophisticated era of education and prevention. No other institution has the concentration of expertise needed to make this happen.”

While Culture of Respect has made enormous strides these past three years, NASPA provides the vehicle and the infrastructure to implement our programs and ensures that real change will occur on a national level.  This is the right moment for a genuine and sustained solution to campus sexual assault.  Executive Director, Allison Tombros Korman will continue at the helm of Culture of Respect’s operation and the CORE Blueprint, our signature six-point framework, will achieve large-scale implementation in the experienced hands of NASPA.

Throughout Culture of Respect’s development we reached out to many extraordinary individuals including our friends and families who have been by our side and supported our work, leaders of national academic organizations, college presidents who shared their challenges and hopes for change, and many Vice Presidents of Student Affairs whose expertise we relied upon. We are equally grateful to numerous sexual assault health professionals, legal experts and of course our devoted Advisory Board and Board of Directors.  We thank each of you who have generously given your time, knowledge and support. The expertise and creative solutions we received have guided our growth. We would like to extend a very special thank you to President of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, Dr. Muriel Howard; Williams College President, Adam Falk; and interpersonal violence expert, Dr. David Lisak.

It has been a great honor to create Culture of Respect and the CORE Blueprint. At this pivotal moment, with Kevin Kruger’s able leadership and Alli’s continued work, NASPA is poised to carry forward our mission.

With enormous gratitude and warmest wishes this holiday season,

Sandi and John Fifield, Co-founders