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Feb. 27, 2015
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
Almost two years ago, we announced the resolution of the
federal government’s investigations into UM’s handling of
sexual assault and harassment. Today, there’s another
story to tell about our campus and about the community of
Missoula. Because of the hard work of many people,
Missoula and UM have made important and lasting
changes.
From the moment I learned of a number of sexual assaults
on our campus, my goals have been clear: 1) to care for
the victims, 2) to rid our campus of known offenders and 3)
to eliminate threats to UM’s healthy and safe learning environment.
UM’s work has come at the same time that the issue of sexual assault on college
campuses continues to grow in importance and visibility:
For much of the past year, the White House, Congress and state legislatures
discussed how to ensure that colleges and universities effectively address sexual
violence involving students.
The number of institutions currently under federal investigation has grown to at
least 97.
 “The Hunting Ground” and “It Happened Here,” documentaries about rape on
college campuses, will be released this spring.
 And, as most of you are aware, Doubleday has announced that Jon Krakauer’s
next book is titled “Missoula: Rape and the Justice System In a College Town”
and will be released in late April.
 This broad-based attention to sexual assault can help. Victims are coming forward
and speaking out; cities and campuses are improving their responses,
coordination and outreach; and training and education for all of us in higher
education are better than just a year or two ago.

UM is focused on providing all our students and employees a safe learning and living
environment. Our approach is to acknowledge problems when we find them and
tackle them immediately. We believe safety is a community issue – we must take
care of one another, and this expectation applies to all members of the UM family.
Our work isn’t limited to the boundaries of campus. The city of Missoula, under the
leadership of Mayor John Engen, and the University are collaborating more closely
than ever before. Other universities and police departments nationally contact the
city and UM asking for advice and for samples of the tools and resources we’ve
developed. We are known for our leadership in addressing sexual violence and
working to strengthen our community.
Some of our efforts include:
Education and training. PETSA, our online tutorial about sexual assault, is
mandatory for all students to complete. To date, more than 23,000 UM students have
participated in the program. The entire Montana University System now requires all
students to have online training to bring awareness to and help prevent sexual
assault. Access to PETSA’s curriculum has been requested by more than 25
Institutions across the country.
UM staff, faculty and administrators also have taken our online tutorial about
discrimination and sexual violence.
UM police officers have received more than 800 hours of training, covering topics
ranging from sexual assault investigations to learning more effective and caring ways
to assist and interview victims of trauma.
Student activities. UM has about two dozen peer educators – students who’ve
received bystander intervention training and now train fellow students.
Just two weeks ago, a new program started in the residence halls called “The
Bystander Revolution,” which is organized by the Student Advocacy Resource
Center (SARC) and the Advocates for Non-Violence. Presentations were given to
students in all of the residence halls; now it is being offered to the fraternities and
sororities. This training also is being offered to individual classes through another
SARC program called “Don’t Cancel That Class.” The goal is to develop and
promote awareness about the problem of sexual violence and to empower students
to look out for each other.
Personnel. We have faculty and staff dedicated to administering and improving
PETSA and our campus climate surveys, and faculty members are teaching new
classes or adding modules to current classes.
In addition, we’ve added:
Two police officers with a strong focus on community outreach, not just
enforcement.
 A University coordinator for prevention education, who covers a range of topics
that include domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking.

Collaboration across campus. UM has a Case Review Process to help key partners
coordinate our response to reports of sexual violence. Monthly case review sessions
include UM Police, Residence Life, the dean of students, the Title IX Office, the
campus assault prevention coordinator and SARC. Other universities have asked us
to share information about UM’s process.
Collaboration across town. UM is more closely coordinated with Missoula law
enforcement, community advocacy services and the prosecutor’s office. We train,
work and strategize together. The federal investigations didn’t cause this
collaboration, but their review helped us see the gaps and opportunities in our
processes. Next month, the second edition of a city-UM pamphlet will be published,
outlining the community’s collective resources on sexual assault.
Even small details make a difference. All new UM Griz Cards have contact
information for SARC, the dean of students, UM Police, the Title IX Office and
Missoula 9-1-1 services. Students now have information at their fingertips at all
times.
As UM continues working on campus safety, we also are mindful of our obligations to
protect students’ privacy. With limited exceptions, information about students who
find themselves involved in University grievance procedures involving discrimination,
harassment, sexual misconduct, stalking and retaliation cannot and will not be
shared with the public. Respecting students’ privacy is important to the integrity of
our grievance process and is in the best interests of all of our students.
UM’s efforts are ongoing for achieving our safety, community and communications
goals. We are addressing our challenges head on and hosting essential and tough
conversations. We are committed to doing the hard work necessary to create a
campus environment that meets the expectations of our students and their families.
Thank you for your support as we continue our collective efforts to tackle this critical
issue in higher education.
Sincerely,
Royce C. Engstrom
President
University of Montana
Keep up with UM news on our website: www.umt.edu.