Public higher education leaders meet with Senator Gillibrand

U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand addressed a group of leaders in public higher education today (March 3) on the issue of sexual assault on college and university campuses. She engaged with them in a discussion led by Deborah F. Stanley, president of SUNY Oswego.

Gillibrand, along with Sen. Claire McCaskill, has won the support of a bipartisan group of Senate co-sponsors for the Campus Accountability and Safety Act, which aims to hold institutions accountable and to protect and empower victims of sexual assault.

The senator met with the Council of State Representatives, a council of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, at the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C., to explain and advocate for the bill. President Stanley chairs the Council of State Representatives as the AASCU board of directors’ chair-elect.

The council is holding its spring meeting this week in the nation’s capital and meeting with senators and representatives on Capitol Hill.

About AASCU and CSR

The Council of State Representatives is responsible for helping to formulate, recommend and carry out the public policy agenda to the American Association of State Colleges and Universities and providing counsel on state higher education trends and issues.

AASCU’s nearly 420 public colleges, universities and systems are located throughout the United States and in Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Campuses range in size from 1,000 students to more than 45,000. Committed to access, these student-focused institutions engage faculty, staff and students with the communities and regions they serve, helping to advance public education, economic development and quality of life.