This semester, the former program coordinator for OUSAP left the university and now OUSAP is temporarily closed.
This semester has brought a whirlwind of change for the Ohio University Survivor Advocacy Program.
Delaney Anderson, the former program coordinator for OUSAP, left the university Oct. 16 after taking a job outside the university. Anderson, whose annual salary was $37,230, worked at OUSAP for less than a year and informed OU officials of her departure Sept. 29.
She was a confidential source and her departure has left OUSAP without a licensed and credentialed program coordinator.
“In light of what has happened this semester, it’s all just been really frustrating and really overwhelming for all survivors, all the friends of survivors and really anyone on this campus,” Ellenore Holbrook, a junior studying political science and a member of the student group F--kRapeCulture, said.
The interim OUSAP advocate job was posted to ohiouniversityjobs.com on Nov. 11, and applicants originally had until Nov. 27 to apply for the job, according to a previous Post report.
As of Nov. 23, four applicants have applied, and the job search deadline has been extended until Dec. 15, Vice Provost for Diversity and Inclusion Shari Clarke said.
“The interim role was posted while the position is currently being evaluated and permanent placement for the office is under discussion,” Clarke said in an email.
OUSAP temporarily closed on Nov. 16 and has yet to reopen. Its 24/7 hotline isn’t functioning and no staff are working out of the OUSAP offices.
Alicia Chavira-Prado, a special assistant to the vice provost for Diversity and Inclusion, had previously provided administrative leadership to OUSAP. However, Chavira-Prado was not a confidential source and did not have a role in the advocacy services.
“The way the university’s handled everything so far is just disgusting,” Bobby Walker, a member of the OU Student Union and a junior studying women's, gender and sexuality studies, said.
In September, The Post reported OUSAP would receive $90,000 from the university’s budget and a part of the general operating fund within the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. The university started funding the program in October.
“Funds are not being used except to cover any operational costs affiliated with the office. When the office reopens, funds will be utilized as designated to cover expenses,” Clarke said in an email.
Holbrook said a positive change would be an increased budget.
“We know that SAP could not function sufficiently on the budget that they were given,” Holbrook said.
OUSAP was launched in 2010 and, following Anderson’s departure, it had partnered with Counseling and Psychological Services.
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“We have all this money going into what? To host concerts for people and to host football games, and the one place that survivors can go to is closed for the rest of the semester until God knows when," Walker said.
Both Holbrook and Walker said they are hoping OUSAP experiences positive changes next semester.
“They have a month to get it together, and I’m not counting on it, I’m not holding my breath for that,” Walker said.
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