University of Lynchburg is not immune to the possibility that a campus visitor or a member of the University community poses a threat of harm to himself/herself or others. The University has multiple staff, policies, and procedures dedicated to enhancing safety on campus and to preventing violence, including those described in the Safety and Security Handbook and in the section entitled “Safety at University of Lynchburg: A Shared Responsibility” of The Hornet. Additional information about helping a troubled student is available at www.lynchburg.edu/worried-about-troubled-student.
Because campus safety is a shared responsibility, University of Lynchburg constituents and visitors are strongly encouraged to take steps to preserve both personal and property safety and to contact Campus Safety and Security immediately should they observe threatening or aberrant behavior that may represent a threat to the University community. When a threat is reported, a campus security officer will respond to the situation and utilize other safety resources as needed. These additional resources may include but are not limited to the Lynchburg City Police Department and other law enforcement agencies, emergency medical and mental health services, the Office of the Dean of Students, the dean on call, and emergency alert platforms (email, text-messaging, and/or audible) for notifying the campus community of an ongoing threat.
Administrators from Student Development offices serve as the Dean on Call (DOC) on a rotating basis (e.g. dean and associate dean of students, directors of Housing and Residence Life and of Campus Safety and Security). The DOC is available to consult with and to assist security and residential staff about safety, medical, mental health, and facility emergencies. The Dean-on-Call emergency response system supplements but does not replace on-call systems implemented by Campus Safety and Security and by the Office of Residence Life. The Dean-on-Call system is active during the fall and spring semesters when weekday office hours have ended; the DOC system is not active during Thanksgiving, winter, and summer breaks. The Dean-on-Call system is supplemented by Minister- and Counselor-on-Call systems.
