Many higher education institutions have seen a decline in on-campus residency, dining, and parking along with deferred enrollment which has resulted in reduced revenue. At the same time, they have had to decrease class sizes, transform non-academic spaces into classrooms, and improve ventilation systems. All of which come with mounting expenses.
Two new public safety committees were created this month by University of Utah Chief Safety Officer Marlon Lynch and appointed by U President Ruth Watkins. The Public Safety Advisory Committee and the Independent Review Committee are comprised of students, faculty, and staff from across the institution and are designed to ensure a broad representation of constituents are included in public safety decision-making.
New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and Chancellor Jim Malatras announced the launch of a State University of New York System (SUNY) system-wide COVID-19 case tracker dashboard. The centralized dashboard will provide real time, up-to-date information on COVID-19 cases, testing, and quarantine and isolation space availability across SUNY's 64 colleges and universities to more efficiently monitor, respond to, and contain the virus.
Miami Dade College has launched its new, state-of-the-art Cybersecurity Center of the Americas, a facility designed to mimic what a Security Operations Center (SOC) looks and feels like.
An app for University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign faculty members, staff and students who intend to enter university facilities this fall is available for download by iPhone and Android users.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao announced that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is awarding $3.3 million in research, education and training grants to universities that comprise FAA’s Air Transportation Center of Excellence (COE) for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), also known as the Alliance for System Safety of UAS through Research Excellence (ASSURE).
As part of reorganizing and updating safety functions at the University of Utah, Chief Safety Officer Marlon C. Lynch created a new position to direct Campus Security and to oversee public safety compliance and accreditation.
UC San Diego denounced an Instagram account claiming an affiliation with the university that posted "hateful, racist content" on its page, while a similar investigation was underway at the University of San Diego, according to a news report.
