Faculty-Led Initiatives
Since 2018, NATB is the leader among Cal OES grant recipients in developing projects to engage faculty in the support of survivors and gender violence prevention education for the CSULB community. This overarching effort has been to address the organizational, curricular and professional dimensions of university life that shape faculty readiness to provide support to sexual assault survivors and to help transform campus culture. NATB thanks the following faculty associates for their significant contributions to this effort.
Dr. Courtney Ahrens
Currently, Dr. Ahrens is the lead CSULB trainer for Flip the Script with EAAA,™ an evidence-based program developed by Dr. Charlene Senn at the University of Windsor, Ontario. Flip the Script with EAAA™ is a 12 hour curriculum-based sexual assault resistance program that challenges female gender roles. In this program, cis- and trans-gendered students who identify with female gender roles are empowered to identify warning cues, overcome barriers to resisting unwanted sexual behaviors, take steps to reduce perpetrator advantage, and employ verbal and physical self-defense strategies to protect themselves from harm. Complementary programs for non-binary and self-identified men are under development. For more information about Flip the Script with EAAA™implementation at CSULB, please contact Dr. Ahrens at courtney.ahrens@csulb.edu. |
Dr. Nina FloresDr. Nina M. Flores is an Assistant Professor in the Social & Cultural Analysis of Education graduate program at California State University Long Beach. She has written articles and book chapters about campus sexual assault, gendered public space, and street harassment, and her research focuses on the ways in which harassment affects a range of daily lived experiences. For NATB in 2018, she led project discussions on how to protect faculty from both interpersonal violence and targeted harassment, such as when faculty are zeroed in on by groups or members of the public and experience a flood of online or in-person harassment. Based on faculty experiences, Dr. Flores helped to identify the myriad ways faculty may be targeted, how public harassment can escalate, and the promising university-level best practices for supporting faculty through these incidents. In 2020-2021, she was appointed a fellow at the National Center of Free Speech and Civic Engagement and developed a series of information and strategy sessions designed for use by individual faculty members or their institutions. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_jT8R-MSpY and research article https://issuu.com/ccowper/docs/flores_-_tweets_threats_and_censorship_2_?e=41936391/92097934 |
Dr. Bita Ghafoori
On behalf of NATB, Dr. Ghafoori created a workshop titled “Traumatic Stress Among Student Survivors of Sexual and Physical Violence: A Workshop for Faculty.” The workshop aimed to educate faculty about the traumatic effects of sexual and physical violence experienced by our students, and to offer guidance in trauma-informed care practices relevant to educational settings. Topics include the impact of trauma of sexual and physical violence and the stress response, vicarious trauma, barriers for faculty, and trauma-informed care and interventions. |
Dr. Nancy Martin
For NATB, Dr. Martin developed and implemented a curriculum infusion model that incorporated violence awareness, prevention and response into select classes in the College of Liberal Arts. The aim was to help faculty incorporate information about sexual assault, intimate partner violence, and stalking into their courses by (1) providing a model to support faculty in developing lesson plans tailored to their own courses and (2) connecting them with clinical professionals who attend classes as guest speakers and introduce campus resources. In Fall 2019, Martin led a team of 9 CLA faculty fellows who selected a course into which they embedded a relevant learning module on some aspect of sexual violence and were paired with a CSULB mental health professional who provided additional student support. Based on The Engelhard Project at Georgetown, Dr. Martin is available to discuss ‘lessons learned’ from this pilot project for similar curricular infusion efforts at CSULB. |
Dr. Marc Rich
From the outset of NATB, Dr. Rich has helped to develop its primary prevention and outreach strategy. In concert with MVP Leadership Trainings, Dr. Rich and team have offered interACT performances to over 6,000 CSULB students in Residential Life, Athletics, Fraternities and Sororities and other student constituencies as part of ongoing NATB programming. In addition, Dr. Rich created an innovative faculty ally training—the first in the nation–that deployed bystander intervention and social justice pedagogy to engage faculty on issues related to sexual/gender violence. This scenario-based, hands-on training was designed to help faculty and staff better understand predatory violence and to learn collaboratively how to provide students (and each other) with appropriate support. Trainings also offered faculty a better understanding of campus and off-campus resources and which agencies to contact for specific situations. |
Dr. Shira Tarrant
With a Ph.D. in political science, Dr. Tarrant applied her academic interests in public policy to a review of campus policies related to sexual assault disclosures, Title IX, and campus climate in relation to ‘best practice’ recommendations by state and federal agencies. Her final report for NATB articulated the ways faculty could advocate for better policies on campus in such areas as preferred reporting policies, more confidential advocates on campus, and better staffing of student conduct offices. |