The Lincoln Memorial University (LMU) Police, Security and Dispatch department has been named to the Safe Campus Top 25.

The list was published by Safe Campus, a national organization dedicated to improving the safety of U.S. colleges and universities. LMU was ranked No. 24 for a wide range of efforts aimed at improving the safety and well-being of students and employees on its Harrogate main campus and 10 extended learning sites, which stretch from Corbin, Kentucky, to Tampa, Florida.

“LMU has incorporated sweeping new campus-wide safety initiatives over the last two years to improve the safety of LMU’s students, employees and campus communities,” said Linda Shaw, director of Safe Campus.

Among the initiatives which earned the honor was the creation of a Critical Incident Response Team, the ongoing work of the Threat Assessment Team and the department’s continuing efforts to collaborate with local law enforcement agencies. LMU transitioned from an unarmed security department to a fully functional police force in 2012 following a change in state legislation. The department signed a memorandum of understanding with the Claiborne County Sheriff’s Department, received approval by the LMU Board of Trustees and recognition by the POST commission. Since then, under the direction of Vice President for Administration Lisa Blair Cox, LMU has installed an emergency siren to alert the community of public safety or weather-related emergencies, launched a University-wide “See Something, Say Something” campaign and maintained a vibrant force of POST trained officers supported by extensively trained dispatch staff.

“My employees have worked so hard to accomplish a lot in such a short period of time,” said Cesar Gracia, director of campus safety operations and emergency preparedness facilitator. “I am so proud of their hard work and dedication to Lincoln Memorial University. I am also proud of the support that we receive from the University administration and board of trustees. This is truly a team effort.”

LMU was recognized out of 4,706 eligible U.S. colleges and universities. The full list of honorees is available at https://safecampussummit.org/2018-las-vegas-conference/top-25-university-departments/.