Academic and administrative leaders from every UA campus gathered January 18 to develop an outreach plan to deploy the university's message focused on the impact and importance of the university to Alaska. Discussions focused on the university's five goals: to contribute to Alaska's economic investment; provide Alaska's skilled workforce; grow our world class research; increase degree attainment; and operate more cost effectively. Guest speakers discussed advocacy and grassroots engagement strategies and provided advice regarding year-round communication and advocacy efforts. Participants helped create a common definition of what it means to create a culture that values education in Alaska. Work groups have been formed and will work on outreach activities over the coming year. The day was an informative and should prove to be impactful for many months to come.

Greetings from Juneau and welcome to the 2018 Capitol Report.

Last Tuesday, state lawmakers gaveled-in to begin the second session of the 30th Alaska Legislature. After a record setting 217-day session last year, legislators have a full agenda facing them in the coming months.

Your university team is hard at work in Juneau, and we encourage you to stay engaged as the session continues. In addition to advocating for the Board of Regents FY19 operating budget request, we will be working to reauthorize the Alaska Education Tax Credit, secure funding for deferred maintenance, and show policymakers the value university research adds to Alaska and our economy.

Throughout the session we’ll provide you with updates on happenings in Juneau, and keep you informed about what you can do to advocate for our university.� MORE...

The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (the Clery Act - https://www2.ed.gov/admins/lead/safety/handbook.pdf) requires higher education institutions to provide emergency notifications, timely warnings of crimes that represent a threat to the campus community and to publish their campus security policies. The Act also requires that the crime data is collected, reported, and disseminated to the campus community, the Department of Education, and potential students and employees. Each university in the UA system publishes an annual security report.

Under the Clery Act, every institution is required to immediately issue an emergency notification to the campus community upon confirmation of any significant emergency or dangerous situation occurring within our Clery geography that involves an immediate threat to the health or safety of students or employees. Notification examples include earthquake, tsunamis, and violent intruder. University police departments (UPD) or campus Incident Management Teams (IMT) are responsible for issuing emergency notifications.

Timely warnings are issued when: 1) a Clery crime that occurs within our Clery geography is reported directly or indirectly to UPD through a campus security authority or local police department and 2) it is considered to represent a serious or continuing threat to students and employees. Notification examples includes a rash of building or motor vehicle thefts. A timely warning may also be issued for other non-Clery crimes that occur within or near a Clery geographically defined location when they have the potential to be a serious or continuing threat to students and employees. UPD or campus Incident Management Teams (IMT) are responsible for issuing timely warnings.

Employees responsible for sending out notifications use a robust system capable of disseminating emails, text messages, phone calls, activating Alertus beacons, digital signage, giant speakers, and turning on desktop alerts. Messages can be sent to all students and employees in the system or to specific geographic or campus communities. In order to streamline the process hundreds of templates have been created with different target audiences and notification options based on the type and severity of the situation.