Message from Chancellor: Supporting a Safe Campus Community

Dear Students, Faculty and Staff:

This academic year is off to a great start. Thank you for the energy, talent and Seahawk spirit you bring to UNCW each day. Our university soars on the collective strength of our people.

Each member of the UNCW community contributes unique experiences, perspectives and ideas that enrich the learning environment and help us to thrive in a complex and interconnected world. As Seahawks, we are united by a commitment to respect, belonging and meaningful engagement. The Seahawk Respect Compact and Freedom of Expression Guidance reflect our commitment to supporting a community where ideas can be explored thoughtfully and respectfully.

Last fall, a disagreement about campus spirit rock usage evolved into a series of rapidly circulating reports, primarily online, about potential campus safety threats. Although those threats were ultimately determined to be unfounded, the concern, anxiety and disruption they caused across campus and throughout our community were real. The events underscored how quickly information, and especially misinformation, can spread during moments of heightened concern and reinforced the importance of timely, clear and coordinated communication during rapidly evolving situations.

Immediately following the events, we listened closely to students, faculty and staff to identify important lessons that have helped strengthen campus safety and security measures. I want to thank our campus community for participating in that process. Throughout the past year, the university has taken action to enhance our broad approach to responding to complex campus incidents, including emergency communications improvements. We also employed Jensen Hughes, a global security and risk assessment company, to conduct an after-action review. I encourage you to review the summary and related resources available on the UNCW Alert website under the Incident Response FAQ.

As a reminder, the UNCW Alert emergency notification tools include:

• Campus emails
• UNCWAlert text messages and calls
• Pop-up notifications on university-owned computers
• UNCW Alert SafeZoneApp: This platform connects with the Emergency Notification System and provides students and employees with direct access to campus resources, the ability to chat with police dispatch, anonymous tip reporting and more.
• UNCW Mobile: an app that offers quick access to essential campus information and resources, including emergency notifications. Students, faculty, staff, parents, families and community members can download.
• Warning Siren System

In an emergency, the university may use some or all of these tools and other official channels to communicate with the campus community, depending on the conditions. Please be sure you are relying only on official university messaging during emergency situations.

Students, faculty and staff are automatically registered for emergency texts, calls and campus emails. To enhance emergency communications, UPD is working with university partners to periodically review and update contact information and share available opt-out options. If you have questions, please reach out to police@uncw.edu or visit the University Police Department website. Take a few minutes to review safety tips, Active Attacker Preparedness resources and other police resources and services. 

As we move through this academic year, please continue to look out for one another, engage with respect and help support a campus community where everyone feels welcomed, valued and safe. By working together, we can make sure UNCW remains a place where every Seahawk has the opportunity to soar higher.

Yours in Seahawk Spirit, 

Aswani K. Volety
Chancellor