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Dear Mount Holyoke community,

In the summer of 2023, the College engaged to commission an assessment of our campus’s safety and security. This was a proactive decision to review our systems, structures and policies.

On behalf of the College, we want to thank each and every person who participated in this review process for your expert feedback and insights. , founder and Chief Safety Officer of GoodIvy Consulting, met with and interviewed multiple departments and campus stakeholders, including student leaders, reviewed countless documents and toured campus buildings and structures extensively. The final report was received from GoodIvy in November 2023, and as anticipated, it confirmed what we know — Mount Holyoke’s campus is a safe place located in a secure community and that there are areas that would benefit from enhancement and strengthening.

During the spring 2024 semester, we identified key action items from the report’s recommendations that will be incorporated into Mount Holyoke’s strategic plan over the next several years. Some items include updating the College’s camera/video policy and capacity, strengthening our threat assessment work, providing more comprehensive training for all campus members and continuing to develop policies and practices that support the College’s Emergency Response Team, including reviewing emergency management.

As of this summer, some of the work has already begun, and we will continue to keep our entire community updated as to its progression.

Current updates:

• A multi-constituency team of staff and faculty developed a Security Camera Acceptable Use Policy, which clearly articulates the scope, purpose, roles, responsibilities and more of how security cameras can and will be used on campus. We encourage all community members to review this policy, and we send a big thank-you to the team who worked efficiently this summer to implement this policy.
• We have engaged an external consultant with expertise in working with colleges and universities. In partnership with a team of staff tasked to review the College’s current and future campus safety technologies, they will provide recommendations in the next few weeks to define the future state of the scope, materials, staffing and resources of the security camera program in alignment with the acceptable use policy.
• Maturing the security camera program will continue to be a priority for the fall semester. Areas of focus will include development of signage standards, procedures for investigative camera use and other related procedures. We want to acknowledge that we heard from many of you last year about the desire for more systems in place to support ongoing campus investigations, and this work will attend to that.
• A multi-constituency team, including staff from Human Resources, the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, the Provost’s Office and the Division of Student Life, has been identified and will start working this fall to strengthen the College’s threat assessment program.

If you have any questions or feedback as we continue to share updates and engage in this work, please do not hesitate to reach out to us at safety-assessment-feedback-g@mtholyoke.edu.

Warmly,

Marcella Runell, Vice President for Student Life and Dean of Students
Lisa Sullivan, Provost and Dean of Faculty
Carl Ries, Vice President for Finance and Administration
Alex Wirth-Cauchon, Chief Information Officer and Executive Director of LITS