Clery Report

Lighting and Maintenance

Gardner-Webb University recognizes the importance of safety and regularly assesses areas that may need repairs to or replacement of lighting on campus. But as in every community, the more people looking, the safer our campus will be. If you encounter a hazard, broken light, or other unsafe condition, use the maintenance request link which can be found on Webbconnect or contact University Police.

Education Programs

University Police works with Student Development to take a proactive approach to crime prevention. The goal of the University’s crime prevention and security awareness programs is to eliminate or minimize criminal opportunities and to encourage students, faculty members, and staff members to be responsible for their safety and the safety of other members of the Gardner-Webb community.

Traditional Campus Programs

During new student orientation and open houses, students and their families are informed about the types of crime that occur on campus and introduced to the prevention resources offered by University Police and Student Development. During the 2022-2023 academic year, students were involved in programs about general safety and security awareness. These programs addressed safety, alcohol abuse, domestic violence, fire safety, emergency response and evacuation procedures, sexual assault prevention, and theft prevention:

• Fire safety for resident assistants
• Programming in the residence halls on healthy relationships, sexual harassment, and alcohol and drugs
• Title IX training included information on how and why to report, to whom to report, and discussions of case studies was provided to:
  • Resident Advisors
  • Graduate Resident Directors
  • Coaches and members of the athletic teams
  • First year students during new student orientation.
  • All faculty and staff
• Alcohol education classes were taught to students who received alcohol citations in the residence halls.

Campus Violence and Threat Management

Acts or threats of violence must be reported to University personnel in order to enable the University to take appropriate action to protect the safety of all members of the Gardner-Webb community. Reports of emergency events, incidents, or concern in the Boiling Springs area should be made to 911. Please also direct someone to call (704) 406-4444 (University Police) to alert officers that an emergency situation exists.

Reports concerning behavior that could be a safety concern, even if not a direct threat, should also be reported. Some examples of these types of behavior that should be reported are:

• Reference to or discussion of planning a violent or destructive event;
• Comments about harming people; or
• Extreme and inappropriate reactions or responses such as severely angry outbursts, suicidal comments, or threats of harm.

Reports of such behavior may be made to University Police; the Vice President of Student Development and Dean of Students or Residence Life on call if a student is involved, or the Associate Vice President of Human Resources if an employee is involved.

Threat Assessment Team

The University has a Threat Assessment Team (TAT) that is charged with creating a best practice threat assessment operating environment. The TAT exists to facilitate a multidisciplinary, coordinated response to reports of students, employees or other individuals on campus who have engaged in behavior indicating a possible threat of harm to self or other members of the campus community. The team is comprised of representatives from campus to include University Police, Student Development, Counseling Services and the Noel Center.

The team has been established to:

• Respond to possible circumstances of violence or threatening behavior;
• Respond quickly to behavior indicating a potential risk to self or others;
• Determine if a realistic threat is present and act accordingly;
• Coordinate and assess information from faculty, administrators, students, and local authorities;
• Notify, within FERPA guidelines, parents, guardians or next-of-kin;
• Identify resources for troubled students and make referrals to appropriate campus resources and off-campus agencies, including helping with the securing of therapeutic actions such as treatment or counseling; and
• Periodically assess outcomes of actions taken.