As the academic year gets underway, the 91探花鈥檚 public campuses are again bustling and busy with students, faculty, staff and visitors. While the focus is on academics, research, learning and building community, on any given day, there may be safety challenges and individuals who feel unsafe for any number of reasons.

Some of the systemic problems within the very institutions ostensibly designed to keep people safe were laid bare by the COVID-19 pandemic and further thrust into the spotlight by 2020鈥檚 mass protests sparked by the murder of George Floyd.

More than two years later, faculty, staff and students continue to come together to reenvision how the 91探花can best build and maintain a safe community 鈥� including addressing racism and bringing about long-term change.

Against this backdrop, 91探花President Ana Mari Cauce launched a long-term effort to reimagine safety across the university. Starting Sept. 28, the university鈥檚 key safety programs 鈥� SafeCampus, 91探花Emergency Management and the 91探花Police Department (Seattle campus) 鈥� will operate through a single division for better coordination, responsiveness and leadership accountability.

A community of the UW鈥檚 size and complexity 鈥� three campuses in Washington and numerous medical facilities, all with public and private spaces including classrooms, research labs and residences, and all in an earthquake- and flood-prone region 鈥� requires a range of personal and facility safety services.

Critically, a holistic approach to safety and preparedness must be responsive to different service needs across the whole of the 91探花鈥� like crime prevention, crisis response, personal resiliency plans and innovation in unarmed interventions 鈥� as well as to the different experiences, including negative, that some people of color and members of the LGBTQIA+ community have had with police.

To bring this initial reimagining and reorganizing work to life, President Cauce asked Sally Clark to serve as the Interim Vice President for Campus & Community Safety. Clark, a former Seattle City Council member, is the Director of Regional & Community Relations, and has decades of experience addressing complex issues by bringing together a diverse range of constituents. 91探花News sat down with Clark to talk about how campus leaders are prioritizing this work. The below conversation has been edited for clarity.

What does advancing safety across the 91探花mean?

Sally Clark: We know that people thrive when they feel safe, and that includes feeling they belong. From there, they can be the best student, researcher, staff person, professor or medical professional. Creating that community of safety starts with emergency preparedness, creating safe spaces, doing our best to work upstream to prevent issues, and deploying the most appropriate response to people in crisis or crime victims.

The work of the new Campus & Community Safety division is to think holistically about everything, including earthquakes and natural disaster preparedness, violence prevention and personal safety plans, mental health support, maintaining safety during games at Husky Stadium and more 鈥� all while trying to respond to each incident in a way that respects individuals and communities.

We know we have work to do to undo systemic oppression and create a sense of belonging for all people at the UW. That means we鈥檙e engaged in both listening and speaking with a number of student, staff and faculty groups, as well as working with communities around the 91探花to ensure all people are given respect, and ultimately, we achieve the goal of community safety.

When someone on a campus needs emergency help 鈥� if they are experiencing a crisis, medical need, or have been a crime victim 鈥� how do they summon help and who will respond?

SC: This depends on the circumstances. If someone feels like they鈥檙e threatened or if they鈥檙e injured or otherwise need urgent medical attention, I encourage calling 911. Still, I know there are some people in the 91探花community who 鈥� for good reason 鈥� don鈥檛 feel like that鈥檚 the safest call because of their own past experiences or history. On the Seattle campus, that emergency call will result in a UWPD officer being dispatched. UWPD鈥檚 team is made up of officers who are drawn to the campus community and trained to work with students, faculty and staff. For the Tacoma and Bothell campuses, safety and security officers work hard to offer help in a variety of situations. For those campuses, a crime-related 911 call will mean dispatch of a Tacoma or Bothell police officer.

If you鈥檙e concerned about your safety or maybe the safety of someone else 鈥� you鈥檝e received verbal or online threats, or you notice concerning behavior in a friend or colleague 鈥� then SafeCampus is your best call. That鈥檚 true of wherever you are as a student, staff person or faculty member. The SafeCampus staff is trained to listen and help you with guidance and safety plans. Their website includes links and numbers for resources available day and night.

Finally, the stresses of the world, the pandemic, being a student, caring for family, juggling work, can all add up. For students, the 91探花Seattle鈥檚 Counseling Center provides support, as do and . 聽For benefits-eligible faculty and staff at any 91探花campus or facility, provides skilled ongoing support.

Around the U.S., people of color have experienced disproportionately negative, sometimes violent, responses from uniformed police officers. What is the 91探花doing to make certain that everyone on campus, especially students, faculty and staff of color, can be confident in being treated fairly and with respect?

SC: The UW鈥檚 Race & Equity Initiative was launched in 2015, prior to the summer of 2020, and has only grown in importance. All of us must be part of the ongoing work to ensure that UW鈥檚 mission 鈥� to preserve, advance and disseminate knowledge 鈥� can be fulfilled through all who study, work and visit. Not some, but all. That means we need to look critically at ourselves and past practice in order to be a better, ever more welcoming community that values belonging. This includes policing. I know the new chief of the Seattle campus police force, Craig Wilson, is dedicated to supporting officers in being the best public servants they can be as part of supporting the mission.

Reimagining campus community safety won鈥檛 be accomplished by one project or initiative. We need to work with urgency in a long game of continuous reflection and improvement. The new Campus & Community Safety division鈥檚 goal will be to instigate, inspire and support ongoing reimagining efforts that make people safer, feel safer and feel like they belong.

What is the 91探花doing to ensure safety in the neighboring communities, such as the U District?

SC: The 91探花is taking a number of steps to work with partners in the community to improve safety and reduce crime. Overall, Seattle and other urban centers have seen a stunning increase in personal and property crimes since the start of the pandemic, and the U District hasn鈥檛 been immune. There are several leading reasons for this having to do with the terrible intersection of poverty, addiction and crime.

The 91探花invests in the , which employs teams of Safety Ambassadors in the U District, as well as an outreach worker for unhoused people in crisis. Overall, UDP does an amazing job creating spaces that feel and are safe through cleaning up sidewalks and graffiti; drawing people out to events like the ; and supporting small businesses that are the life force of the U District.

Sometimes, a uniformed officer is what鈥檚 needed for a situation. Both UWPD and the Seattle Police Department have been terrific partners in responding when needed.

You鈥檝e talked a lot about safety in Seattle; what鈥檚 being done to address these same issues at 91探花Bothell and 91探花Tacoma?

SC: Both UWB and UWT have chancellors, students, faculty and staff who are deeply engaged in discussions about what makes their campus communities safer. The concerns among all three campuses and in 91探花Medicine facilities aren鈥檛 radically different, but the campus conditions are a little different.

The new division will support work across the whole of 91探花to set standards and expectations for preparedness, training and accountability as we strive for safety, support and belonging across the system, whether you鈥檙e in Seattle, Bothell, Tacoma, Friday Harbor or Rome.

What can students, faculty and staff do to help keep all 91探花spaces safe and prepared?

SC: Each of us has a role to play. It鈥檚 always important to stay aware of your surroundings. If you feel unsafe, reach out to either SafeCampus or call 911. There are so many great trainings available for recognizing bias and being a good ally. If we come together and look out for one another, we stay safe and build community.

For more information, contact Clark at salclark@uw.edu.

A 26-year 91探花Police Department veteran and a member of the command staff for the past seven years, Wilson has served as interim chief since January.

鈥淎s we progressed through our national search, it became increasingly clear that the most qualified, trusted and capable leader for UWPD was already here. We are thrilled that Craig has accepted the promotion, as we know the care and creativity he brings to the position will put UWPD on a solid course for hiring and continued high-quality service to the Seattle campus community,鈥� Suite and Clark said in a joint letter. 鈥淗is appointment brings much-needed stability, a track record of community collaboration and trust to a department that has been working under interim leadership for more than three years.鈥�

Wilson began his career as an officer with UWPD in 1996 after serving in the U.S. Navy. He moved up the ranks to sergeant, lieutenant, commander and deputy chief.

鈥淐ollaborating with others and building strong partnerships is one of the best ways to address issues that impact our community,鈥� Wilson said. 鈥淚鈥檓 thrilled to continue to contribute to the UW.鈥�

A proud Husky, Wilson graduated from the 91探花with a bachelor鈥檚 degree Law, Societies & Justice. He earned a master鈥檚 degree in Law and Justice at Central Washington University.

Beginning this fall, UWPD will join UW鈥檚 new Division of Campus Community Safety along with SafeCampus and 91探花Emergency Management. The division will allow the 91探花to better plan for and respond to safety concerns in more holistic, transparent and accountable ways, Clark said.