Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff,

Keeping Longhorns safe is our top priority. As the world shifts and evolves, campus safety needs become broader and more complex. The University of Texas at Austin is preparing for the future with an integrated, forward-looking approach to campus safety — one built to protect students, faculty, staff, and patients for years to come.

I am pleased to share that we are combining strengths in key safety areas to elevate this priority and establish a consolidated campus safety portfolio. Led by a newly created cabinet leadership position, this unit brings together the University of Texas Police Department, the Office of Emergency Management, the West Campus Ambassadors, and a new public safety strategy team in a unified structure.

This new Campus Safety leader will be a strategic advisor to me and an important member of our leadership cabinet, focused on building and sustaining a culture, attitude, and environment of safety across our main campus, research campus, and medical enterprise. I am confident this will help us deliver a level of safety that is best in class and can serve as a model for universities everywhere.

I have asked Jay Swann, who served for over 20 years in the Austin Police Department working in strategic intelligence, active threat and response, homicide, and SWAT, among many other areas, to help me lead this portfolio on an interim basis as Executive Director of University Safety while we recruit for a permanent leader. Jay’s history of exceptional service and leadership will be critical as we build this unit for the future.

We remain committed to maintaining an environment where Longhorns can transform lives for the benefit of society. This new safety structure will allow us to deliver on that commitment at the highest level of excellence.

Sincerely,

Jim Davis
President