Dear Lion Family,

The health, safety and well-being of our students, faculty and staff is our number one priority at East Texas A&M University. The plan outlined below demonstrates our commitment to continually assess and improve our facilities, policies, and procedures to ensure our campus is safe and secure. In an effort to be open and transparent with members of our campus community, this plan will be posted on our university website. The status of each of the action items listed below will be updated on a monthly basis so all may monitor our progress.

East Texas A&M University is committed to:

• Increase the number of campus-wide patrols by University Police Department personnel, with a priority on residential living areas (Initiated and will be ongoing)
• Expand a campus-wide campaign to increase student, faculty and staff participation in the Pride Alert Warning System (PAWS) and Lion Safe app (Initiated and will be ongoing)
• Hire additional personnel to staff the front desks at each of our residence halls to monitor 24-hour controlled access (Initiated; currently staffed 8 AM – midnight and hiring process will begin immediately to expand hours; will be fully implemented by the end of the Spring 2020 semester)
• Increase the frequency of inspections to ensure that access control hardware and software is functioning properly on all campus buildings (Initiated and will be ongoing)
• Improve campus-wide lighting, with particular attention to high student traffic and residential living areas (Initiated; this will be a phased project – Phase I of improvements will be completed by Spring Break 2020; Phase II to be completed by the start of the Fall 2020 semester; Phase III to be completed by the end of the Fall 2020 semester)
• Work with the Texas Department of Transportation to improve lighting along Highway 24/50 (Initiated; meetings with TxDOT initiated and ongoing; this will be a multi-year project)
• Expand the hours for shuttle services on campus (Completed – on-campus shuttles now run 7 a.m. – 10 p.m.)
• Create a campus-wide safe-walk/buddy system program to provide safe travel for students between locations on campus (Initiated; currently hiring and training for full implementation by March 2020)
• Conduct focus groups hosted by our University Police Department to hear student and community concerns and respond appropriately (Ongoing; next event March 4, 2020; scheduled quarterly moving forward)
• Increase safety training and information sessions for students, faculty and staff (Ongoing; establishing an ongoing monthly schedule)
• Invite the Texas Division of Emergency Management and the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service to perform a review of our safety-related plans, policies, procedures and facilities at the university (Initiated; audit to start February 2020 with the report to be issued by the end of March 2020)

Contact Information :

In case of an emergency, dial 911

For non-emergency assistance, or to report other safety or security concerns, call the University Police Department any time at 903.886.5868.

For comments, suggestions, or recommendations related to this Campus Safety Action Plan, please contact Kacie Attlee in the Velma K. Waters Library, Room 156 or at 903.886.5009, or email the President directly.