After the departure of Ohio University Survivor Advocacy Program Coordinator Delaney Anderson, the program is without confidential reporters.
Ellenore Holbrook said she felt like she was going to vomit when she received an email from the university Monday saying Delaney Anderson, the program coordinator for the Ohio University Survivor Advocacy Program, left OU Friday.
“It felt like the floor had dropped out from under my feet,” Holbrook, a junior studying political science and a member of F--kRapeCulture, said in an email.
Anderson, who started at OU less than a year ago, has taken a job outside of OU, leaving OUSAP without a licensed and credentialed program coordinator, according to OU Spokeswoman Bethany Venable.
Anderson, whose salary was $37,230 annually, according to a 2014 Post report, notified OU officials Sept. 29 she was leaving, but the job has not been posted, Venable said.
“Ohio University must follow a series of steps to fill empty positions and the Office of Diversity Inclusion is following these steps to post this position and interview candidates,” Venable said. “Providing support and counseling services to survivors is a top priority for this university and we are working through these channels as quickly as we can to fill this position and we’ll also be making sure that the individuals applying to it fit the needs of this program.”
While the university searches for a new program coordinator, Alicia Chavira-Prado, special assistant to the vice provost for Diversity and Inclusion, will provide administrative leadership to OUSAP. However, Chavira-Prado, who is a mandatory reporter of sexual misconduct, will not have a role in advocacy support services, Venable said.
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A mandated reporter is an administrator, faculty or staff member who is required by law to report suspicions of abuse.
OUSAP is partnering with Counseling and Psychological Services to provide survivors with confidential support until a permanent program coordinator is hired, Venable said.
Counselors at Counseling and Psychological services and anyone at Campus Care are confidential reporters on campus, Jenny Hall-Jones, interim vice president for Student Affairs and dean of students, said.
“Anybody in a crisis situation can see a counselor immediately,” Hall-Jones said, adding that a regular visit at Counseling and Psychological Services could be a two-week wait.
Survivors can call OUSAP's 24-hour hotline, which will direct them to Counseling and Psychological Services, Laura Myers, chief of staff to the provost, said.
Besides Anderson, OUSAP also employs two graduate students as well as undergraduate peer advocates. The graduate students "are in the process of being reassigned" Venable said, and the email sent to students Monday said the peer advocate program has been put on hold until a licensed and credentialed coordinator is hired.
OU officials were not certain Tuesday afternoon where Anderson's new job is, but Myers said she thinks Anderson is working with a rape crisis advocacy service near Dartmouth College.
Shari Clarke, vice provost for Diversity and Inclusion, said students can still walk into the OUSAP office in Lindley Hall.
Holbrook said she's concerned about the future OUSAP.
“The University proves to me time and time again they do not care for OUSAP and I am worried this is finally their way of getting rid of it slowly but surely,” Holbrook said in an email.
Holbrook said in an email she is not surprised Anderson took a job elsewhere.
“I do not think she was appropriately compensate for the incredibly intense work that she did,” Holbrook said in an email. “I think Delaney did amazing things for that program and really cared about and supported survivors.”
Anderson was unable to be reached for comment as of press time.
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Holbrook said in an email she is "disappointed in this University."
“If they want to prove they really care about students and survivors, they need to fully fund OUSAP on their own terms, show us the effort they put into hiring another Director, and work to expand Counseling and Psychological Services,” Holbrook said in an email.
In September, The Post reported the program would receive $90,000 in funding from the university’s budget and a part of the general operating fund within the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. OU started funding the program in October.
Rachel Baker, a sophomore studying social work and a member of F--kRapeCulture, said in an email was not shocked upon receiving the campus-wide email Monday about OUSAP.
“This particular case is a great illustration of how the words of administrators mean nothing; after releasing a video telling students that OU is there for survivors, they fired a group of survivor advocates for telling the administration that they needed more resources,” Baker said in an email.
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