IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 25, 2009

CONTACT: K.E. Schwab
724.738.2199

karl.schwab@sru.edu

SRU campus rates in nation’s Top 25 Safe Campus report

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Slippery Rock University has been named one of the safest university campuses in the nation by The Daily Beast. SRU was listed at No. 14.

Tina Brown, former editor of The New Yorker magazine, heads the popular, current issues Web site.

The “Safest Colleges” list was created using data all universities must supply under the Cleary Act. The Daily Beast decided to evaluate how safe universities were following the recent murder of Yale University doctoral student Annie Le.

 “Safety is always my No. 1 concern,” said Robert Downey, SRU’s chief of police. “We work constantly to provide for the safety and security of our students, staff and visitors. It is priority No. 1. Our goal, of course, would be to be rated No. 1 on next year’s list.”

Downey said preliminary installation work is under way on another system to aid in campus security. The Metis Secure system will offer state-of-the-art, location-based emergency notification capabilities in 15 academic buildings. Installation is expected to be completed by the opening of spring semester.

Others on the “safest” list, starting at No. 1 are: New York Institute of Technology, Farmingdale State University, Grand Valley Sate University, Indiana Wesleyan University, Idaho State University, University of Montana, University of Virginia, Georgia College and State, University of Mississippi, Sam Houston State University, Winona State University, Fashion Institute of Technology, Utah State University, SRU, Central Connecticut State, Marshall University, Brigham Young University, Georgia Southern University, The College of New Rochelle, Quinnipiac University, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, Southern Connecticut State University, Michigan Technology University, Texas A&M and Texas Women’s College.

In preparing the list, editors considered 4,000 colleges and universities. To be considered, the school must have had an enrollment of at least 6,000 students and offer on-campus residence halls.

The 25 colleges campuses earning the worst ratings, ranked from 25 to No. 1 are: College of St. Rose, University of California-Riverside, Yale University, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Alabama A&M, Harvard University, Buffalo State, Brown University, Springfield College, California State University-Monterey Bay, Norfolk State University, University of Baltimore, Hampton University, Illinois Institute of Technology, Fitchburg State College, North Carolina Central University, Bowie State University, South Caroline State, Grambling State University, University of Maryland-Eastern Shore, Marshall Institute of Technology, Tufts University, University of Maryland-Baltimore, St. Xavier University and Emerson College.  

For a complete report, including the methodology used in compiling the list, visit: http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-09-24/the-top-25-safest-colleges/.

Slippery Rock University is Pennsylvania’s premier public residential university. Slippery Rock University provides students with a comprehensive learning experience that intentionally combines academic instruction with enhanced educational and learning opportunities that make a positive difference in their lives.