Award-winning safety

The University of Delaware received the 2001 Jeanne Clery Campus Safety Award, a national award to honor schools and individuals that have done extraordinary things to make students safe.

Established in memory of a Lehigh University freshman who was murdered in her dormitory in 1986, the award is given by Security on Campus Inc., which was organized by Howard and Connie Clery, Jeanne's parents, to further the cause of campus safety.

Thanks in part to their efforts, a federal bill, the Student Right-to-Know and Campus Security Act, was passed in 1990, and amendments made in 1998 formally renamed the law in memory of Jeanne Clery.

In a letter to President David P. Roselle telling him of UD's selection, the Clerys wrote, "Your uncompromising efforts to reduce abusive drinking among University of Delaware students are admirable, setting a precedent for colleges across the country. Your recognition that cultural and community influences need to be addressed, and your pioneering use of parental notification deserve kudos."

The letter concludes, "Congratulations and thank you again for your dedication to serving the public and your efforts to make college campuses safer and save lives."

In response, Roselle said, "I am very proud of the good work that my colleagues have done to provide a safe campus, and this award provides a wonderful opportunity for me to publicly thank them."

Other schools that have won the award include the University of Georgia, Michigan State University and Tufts University.

The University was reporting crime on campus before the Clery Disclosure Law went into effect in 1990. Crime statistics are now on the web, but before that, the residence hall crime index was produced on paper, with copies sent to all the residence halls, where it was posted on the bulletin boards. The daily crime update also was produced on paper and sent to different campus offices on a daily basis. (See story on crime statistics on page 8.)