UCSF to Host Town Hall Meetings on Safety and Security
UC San Francisco will host a series of town hall meetings in June to inform the University community about recent efforts to boost security and to hear comments and concerns from faculty, staff and students on the subject.
Since January, UCSF has made a number of improvements to enhance security across the campus and medical center based, in part, on the feedback leaders received from members of the campus community following a couple of incidents at UCSF.
The town hall meetings were being planned prior to the recent murder-suicide shootings at UCLA. In an email to the UCSF community, Chancellor Sam Hawgood, MBBS, extended his heartfelt thoughts to the families and friends of the victims at UCLA, saying such events “serve as an important reminder that we all have a role in ensuring the safety and security of our campus community.”
Since being sworn in as UCSF Police Department Chief in March, Mike Denson has been working together with campus stakeholders and community members on policing initiatives and campus security improvements. Among the recent changes to strengthen security at UCSF are:
Upcoming Town Halls
Town Halls are taking place in Mission Bay, Parnassus and ZSFGH.
- Streamlined emergency and crime communication between campus police and medical center security by adding medical center Security to UCPD’s police radio system for direct contact;
- Improved interaction between police and the UCSF community with increased visibility of police on campus and use of social media by the UCPD;
- Increased collaboration at monthly meetings with senior leaders from UCPD, medical center security, and the safety office;
- The installation of identification badge readers for use during after-hours elevator access at medical office buildings at Mount Zion; and
- The launch of Transportation Services’ “See it, Report it!” campaign, which includes installing signs in all garages and parking lots with campus police phone numbers.
The town hall meetings are being organized under the direction of Teresa Costantinidis, interim senior vice chancellor of Finance and Administration, and Vincent Johnson, executive vice president and chief operating officer for UCSF Health. Chancellor Hawgood and Mark Laret, CEO of UCSF Health, tapped Costantinidis and Johnson to address ways in which UCSF can proactively protect its community. In addition to the town hall meetings, UCSF will issue a short survey to gauge perspectives of the community later this summer.
Members of the UCSF community who work at other locations are welcome to attend one of these locations, but if that is not feasible, the town hall meeting on June 28 at noon will be available a via live stream.
For more campus news and resources, visit Pulse of UCSF.