University Business - November/December 2010 - (Page 12)

BEHIND the NEws Clery Act Turns 20 After the murder of their daughter in her residence hall room in 1986, howard (now deceased) and Connie Clery pushed for a federal law to strengthen campus crime awareness and personal safety. November 8 marked the 20th year for the Jeanne Clery disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act. All colleges and universities receiving federal funds must disclose crime statistics under the law, which continues to evolve. the newest guidelines took effect this fall. Spearheaded by Security on Campus, which the Clery’s founded, the act keeps campus communities informed and allows the public to exercise options for holding institutions accountable for planning and actions related to crime and safety, says SoC executive director Jonathan Kassa. Previously, there wasn’t a uniform standard for institutions to report crimes, notes maureen rush, vice president for public safety at the University of Pennsylvania, which hosted a SoC Clery Act training session in July. “the Clery Act really specified not only the reporting of crimes but how the information would be provided to communities.” rush adds that higher ed’s perception of SoC has changed over time. it was first thought of as an adversarial watchdog, but today it’s more of a proactive partner—a mechanism for working together to U Law makes continued strides in enhancing campus safety keep students safe, she says. higher ed associations have worked with SoC to educate and provide training on the act. “there’s a real transparency now. Before, some institutions did or did not make this [information] available,” says Chris Blake, associate director of the international Association of Campus Law enforcement. Long-term compliance has improved significantly over the last five years, says S. daniel Carter, SoC’s director of public policy. New amendments include expanded reporting requirements for hate crimes and fire incidents along with changes in guidelines for reporting burglaries. institutions must have emergency response and evacuation procedures in place. those with oncampus housing must establish policy and procedures for notification about missing students. “We believe these new provisions will better equip campus communities to respond to a wide range of emergency situations and will provide a more accurate picture of the types of hate crimes happening on campus,” explains Carter. todd Pelazza, public safety director at Fairfield University (Conn.), which received a 2008 SoC safety award, suggests more training on the new reporting requirements. “i think some universities are still a little unclear about that,” he says. Are further changes needed to the Clery Maureen S. Rush of UPenn and consultant Steven J. Healy at a training session in July Act? for now, Blake says campus public safety officials need time to digest and fully implement the recent changes to the law. Gwendolyn dungy, executive director of NASPA – Student Affairs Administrators in higher education, says the Clery Act has gotten non-security administrators involved in threat assessment measures and interdepartmental coordination. She would like to see more funding and time given to aid institutions with compliance. SoC is examining initiatives to further extend the act, such as how institutions can better handle sexual assault cases and how to incorporate provisions for intimate partner violence. the latter results from the death of a University of Virginia senior whose boyfriend, a fellow student, is charged with her murder. —Michele Herrmann Flying Colors Three publiC universiTies in The norThwest soon will be flying high, literally, with branding. The carrier horizon Air will launch three Q400 turboprops painted with the colors and markings for the University of Idaho, the University of Montana, and Montana State University at their regional airports. “it is a really unique way to extend your brand in a way that gets people’s attention,” says Chris Murray, vp for university advancement at the university of idaho. With u-idaho, horizon has been a longtime sponsor of university-held events, and the new venture is seen as an extension of this partnership. u-idaho’s Q400 (shown) will sport a silver i vandal logo on its golden tail (the name for its athletics), the university’s word mark, and the words “idaho” and “vandals” in gold on both sides. horizon will cover each plane’s painting costs. The turboprops join a fleet of fellow higher ed-themed aircraft launched since early 2008. They represent Boise State University (idaho), Oregon State University, the University of Oregon, the University of Washington, and Washington State University. —M.H. 12 | November/December 2010 universitybusiness.com http://www.universitybusiness.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of University Business - November/December 2010

University Business - November/December 2010
Contents
Editor's Note
College Index
Company Index
Advisory Board
Behind the News
Viewpoint
Financial Aid
Models of Efficiency
An Edible Arrangement
Friend or Foe?
Sense of Place
Independent Outlook
Internet Technology
What's New
End Note

University Business - November/December 2010