Restorative Practices @ Penn

Born in 2018, RP@P represents a collective of campus partners working together to create a safe, healthy and productive campus community. The program is housed within the Center for Community Standards and Accountability as an umbrella for the University’s Restorative Practices.

In situations of interpersonal harm, RP@P can provide safe, confidential, supportive resources to help the harmed party access healing and support, and for the responsible party to work toward accountability and repair. Fundamental to the Restorative philosophy is the belief that no one is expendable, and that all of us have the capacity both to cause and repair harm. Below you can see some examples of Restorative processes we use.

RP@P also implements proactive measures to build supportive communities and strengthen our collective capacity to handle harm when it inevitably occurs. This can take many forms, including Circles for community building, trainings or workshops for students, staff and faculty, and consultations with academic departments, programs, and student groups to implement restorative approaches internally.

RP@P is supported by a wide web of partners across the University. The RP@P Steering Committee consists of key partners who aim to identify and implement restorative practices as appropriate and beneficial. The RP@P Student Steering Committee likewise works to oversee the RP@P program and support its growth. These partners and the 75+ trained practitioners from across campus are invested in creating a restorative campus culture. In order to coordinate restorative practices on campus, RP@P works with these campus partners to best support the unique needs arising from each harm and within each community.