Kansas University Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little said her administration plans to respond this fall to recommendations put forth by the KU Sexual Assault Task Force.

Over the summer, Sara Rosen, senior vice provost for academic affairs, and Tammara Durham, vice provost for student affairs, are leading an evaluation of the task force’s many recommendations and suggesting priorities, the chancellor said.

“Probably not everything will be addressed at once,” Gray-Little said.

Tammara Durham

Gray-Little formed the task force in fall 2014, it met throughout the school year, and the group presented a list of 27 recommendations in May, some more drastic than others.

Recommendations included creating an on-campus center for sexual assault prevention and education, requiring all freshmen — including fraternity members — to live in residence halls, and clarifying in the student code that KU can discipline students for sexual violence that occurred off-campus if the victim was also a student.

In May, when receiving the recommendations, Gray-Little repeatedly stressed the need for follow-through.

Interviewed recently, Gray-Little noted that KU already has taken some steps to address sexual assault.

She said those were updating the student code, creating an advocate position to help parties involved with sexual assault cases, added staff in the Office of Institutional Opportunity and Access to help investigate cases and signed memorandums of understanding with the Lawrence Police Department and local victim advocacy groups.

Durham said part of this summer’s process is determining which recommendations KU may already have in place to avoid duplication. This fall, she said she expects to have a timeline for rolling out more changes.

She said she anticipates making announcements along the way.

“It’s important that the university community knows the new things that are available when they become available,” she said.

Not all recommendations necessarily will happen, Durham said, but each “is being seriously considered.”

She said the review process would involve conversations with affected groups and departments, including for recommendations that would affect the greek system.

“Regardless of what it is, we will have the right people at the table to determine the best way to carry out some of the initiatives,” she said. “We’re not going to make decisions in a vacuum.”