What is happening to MC’s PAVE program as federal funding comes to an end?
By Marlee Giles \ Sept. 29, 2026
The Preventing Assault and Violence through Education (PAVE) program at MC has always been fully funded through a grant from the Department of Justice.
The grant is focused on preventing domestic violence and supporting survivors of sexual assault, and it was a great fit for educating students about consent, boundaries, bystander intervention, and healthy relationships, as well as providing resources and support for students who needed them. This funding is partially used to provide condoms, pregnancy tests and emergency contraception, though many of these things are donated from time to time. But the grant is also used to fund full-time director, Laura Reed (‘24).
The grant was first received in fiscal year 2022. The first year was used to set the foundation, and the second year was when programming truly began.
“Laura Reed, the PAVE Director, has really done fantastic work making sure that we are talking about these issues on campus and providing many opportunities to learn about and commit to behaviors and attitudes that prevent harm and reflect our values as a community,” Dean of Students Dr. Ben Stubbs said.
When asked about the future of the program, he said: “The current grant funding will no longer be available after this month. We renewed this grant once before and intended to apply for it again this year. We felt confident that we would receive the funding again and be able to continue to grow the program, and we expected the grant to become available in early summer.”
The Department of Justice has not released this year’s call for proposals, and it cannot currently be anticipated that funding will be available in the near future. The grant officially ends on Sept. 30 of this year.
Reed is a medically retired Veteran who has developed a passion for the topics in the program after being sexually assaulted while serving in the Navy. She was offered the PAVE position when the previous director left right before Reed graduated from MC in spring of 2024.
“This issue is not specific to Maryville College, but in general a lack of funding for the PAVE programs nationwide,” Reed said when asked about the importance of the program.
“I’ve had people come to me after training and ask questions about their personal life and issues they may be having; it shows that you have a lot of people who want to know about all of this. They’re just scared or nervous to ask.” Reed said.
Reed also shared that the goal of the program is ultimately to create a safer campus and a safer environment.
“Our goal here as staff isn’t just to teach you [only] inside these walls; it’s so you can take everything we have taught you…and use it outside of the College,” Reed said. “We’ll keep doing what we are doing [after the grant ends]. Obviously, I’m heartbroken that we won’t have somebody solely focusing on prevention education.”
“This isn’t about me personally losing a job — I will be fine. I just want students to know that there’s still another resource here that they can use, and I don’t want them to lose me, or anyone else working in this role full-time as a resource,” Reed added.
She shared that while she trusts many staff members will still dedicate time to PAVE, she thinks the program will suffer without a full-time director.
Stubbs, whom Reed claims worked to extend her time here, has some thoughts on what the college will do without a full-time director.
“While the grant-funded program may not be able to continue, we are absolutely committed to providing training and education related to consent and bystander intervention, and to making sure that students have the resources and support that they need,” Stubbs said.
“We don’t know yet exactly what this might look like moving forward, but we have meetings scheduled in the coming weeks to develop a plan. We will be working with the SGA and other students to solicit input and feedback as we go about this work.”