Faculty Senate establishes Safety Task Force on campus

In response to recent concerns for student safety on campus, faculty, staff and students at UNA have teamed up to form a Safety Task Force.

The task force will work to inform students, faculty and staff through educational programs of safe practices, said President William Cale in a campus-wide email on June 14.

Cale approached the Faculty Senate in the spring and asked them to create a task force to recommend safe campus practices. The 18-member task force is co-chaired by Lesley Peterson, associate professor of English and John Barrett, business department chair. Both professors also serve on the Faculty Senate branch.

“At the first meeting of the task force we collectively agreed on which subcommittees we needed, and when no one else volunteered to be chair, we agreed,” Barrett said. “It wasn’t something we’d planned on, but we are glad to serve to the best of our abilities.

The task force will host focus groups throughout the year as an attempt to understand how students, faculty and staff perceive safety on campus. After collecting data, the task force will then present the information to Cale, Barrett said.

“The president wants us to make recommendations, and, as is appropriate at a university that owes its existence to a shared belief in the value of research, we want our recommendations to be based on good data and best practice,” Barrett said. “Our goal is to present President Cale with recommendations for both short term and long term goals.”

The task force will host small-group sessions for students throughout the summer and fall. For more information on the task force contact Peterson or Barrett.