The University's Annual Campus Security and Fire Safety Report complies with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, the Higher Education Reauthorization Act, and other federal laws. This report is prepared by a team representing various departments: Sewanee Police Department, Office for Risk Management and Institutional Effectiveness, Office of Institutional Research, Dean of Students Office, Office of General Counsel, and Office of Marketing and Communications. The report is available in the Vice-Chancellor and Provost Offices, the Sewanee Police Department, Office for Risk Management and Institutional Effectiveness, Human Resources, and Admission offices, or click here.
Note: The Clery Act, signed in 1990, was originally known as the Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act. The law is named for Jeanne Clery, a 19-year-old Lehigh University freshman who was raped and murdered in her campus residence hall in 1986. The backlash against unreported crimes on numerous campuses across the country led to the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act.
The Clery Act requires colleges and universities, both public and private, participating in federal student aid programs to disclose campus safety information, and established basic requirements for handling incidents of sexual violence and emergency situations. Disclosures about crime statistics and summaries of security policies are published once a year in an Annual Security Report (ASR), and information about specific crimes and emergencies is made publicly available throughout the year.
The University of the South uses a variety of tools to share important safety information with the campus and broader community. The primary reason for these notices is so that we as a community can work together to keep everyone informed, healthy and safe. Sharing information elevates the community's awareness and our responsiveness.
Emergency notifications may be triggered by crimes as well as such events as severe weather (e.g., an approaching tornado), natural disasters (e.g., an earthquake), outbreak of communicable disease (e.g., meningitis), or an accident inside a campus building (e.g., a lab explosion). In compliance with the U.S. Department of Higher Education and the Jeanne Clery Act, the Sewanee Police Department will issue an Emergency Notification upon confirmation of an immediate threat to the campus community.
In compliance with the U.S. Department of Higher Education and the Jeanne Clery Act, Timely Warnings are issued to provide information concerning a potentially dangerous criminal situation on or near Sewanee University. This information is provided to enable students and employees of the university, the time and information necessary to take appropriate precautions concerning their own personal safety. Timely Warnings of Clery crimes are given if those incidents present a continuing safety threat, such as a series of armed robberies taking place in different campus parking lots over several weeks. Other possible incidents include aggravated assault, arson, burglary, manslaughter, motor vehicle theft, murder, robbery, sexual offenses, and certain hate crimes. Crimes that would not constitute a continuing threat include, but are not limited to, crimes for which the perpetrator has been apprehended and crimes in which the perpetrator targets specific individuals to the exclusion of others such as domestic or dating violence.
Click here to see an updated database and search engine for registered sex offenders in the state of Tennessee.
Certain Sewanee employees, called Campus Security Authorities (CSAs), have a duty to report certain incidents of misconduct to comply with the Clery Act. The function of a CSA is to report allegations of Clery Act crimes.
