The board of trustees found UVM’s Sexual Misconduct and Response Action Plan updates satisfactory thus far, said Cynthia Barnhart, vice chair of Educational Policy & Institutional Resources Committee. 

“One of the things that I was so happy about when I was working on this was students are ready to be partners, incredible partners in this,” Barnhart said. 

The Educational Policy and Institutional Resources Committee meeting took place Oct. 29 in the Silver Maple Ballroom, following the release of the report reviewing UVM’s Office of Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity returned by Grand River Solutions on Oct. 25, according to the report. 

Some students felt dissatisfied with this external review, according to an Oct. 26 Cynic article. Still, the report contains some practical tips for helping to communicate with students, AAEO Director Nicholas Stanton said. 

UVM intends to fill the role of the sexual violence coordinator, continue with education and prevention for students and do their due diligence regarding case reporting and response, Stanton said.

“The collaboration between [students and administration] here at UVM generated some incredibly positive changes,” Stanton said. 

The inclusion of a student advisory committee, sexual violence coordinator position, virtual sexual misconduct training and formal agreement with local advocacy program HOPE Works resulted from this collaboration, Calaiero said.