Patty Dawson, a licensed practical nurse for the Gustavus Adolphus College Student Health Service, received the first annual Distinguished Service Award from Crime Victim Services, Inc. on Monday, April 19.
Crime Victim Services (CVS) is a private, nonprofit organization that offers free, confidential services to victims of crime in Blue Earth, Brown, Nicollet, and Sibley counties in Southern Minn. The Distinguished Service Award was created to recognize those persons who are dedicated to providing exceptional services for crime victims within those counties. The recipient of the award will demonstrate continuous concern for crime victims, advance and enforce the rights of crime victims, and foster fair and respectful treatment of crime victims.
Two years ago, Dawson agreed to work with a team of Gustavus community members to develop a sexual assault response protocol on the Gustavus campus. The result of Dawson’s work was the development of the College’s Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) and the Sexual Assault Education Team (SAET).
As the team leader for SART and a team member of SAET, Dawson leads and coordinates all training for the six-member SART. She also provides training for student groups, student leaders, and staff members on campus. She is on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week for victims of sexual assault. She helped to bring to campus nationally recognized sexual assault expert Steven Thompson to help educate students and staff about sexual assault on college campuses. She has completed 40 hours of sexual assault advocacy training and has attended a national conference on sexual assault. She also has worked tirelessly to facilitate communication between Gustavus and community partners such as local police, hospitals, and CVS.
“Patty’s drive and determination and student centeredness has made the issues of sexual assault response and prevention more visible on our campus and in our student body,” said Assistant Dean of Students Stephen Bennett. “Patty is a trusted colleague, a strong advocate, and a caring member of the Gustavus community, who always keeps students at the center of her work. She models for all of us on a daily basis care, compassion, strength and perseverance and we are a better community because of her.”
The selection of Dawson was made by a panel of judges made up of six CVS board members, a judge, an attorney, a probation agent, a law enforcement agent, and an advocate.
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