Update on strategic positioning for January 2023 | Towards a safer campus

For more than year, MarComm has been focused on efforts to be better prepared for a crisis and facilitate a safer campus overall. As a result of an ongoing partnership with the Department of Campus Safety (DCS) and in collaboration with the Denver Police Department, DU now has in place the foundational structure and processes to help guide crisis response and recovery actions. Since establishing an incident command team structure, that team has participated in one-on-one trainings and a tabletop drill to help everyone feel comfortable in their roles and collaborating as a unit during an emergency situation.

Several websites housed within DCS provide basic information on emergency situations that our community could face, such as a weather emergency warranting a delay or campus closure, as well as an evacuation, lockdown, or other immediate action. The websites can also function as a landing spot for real-time updates should the need arise. The DU community can expect to receive real-time updates from social media as well, from DCS platforms.

With the recent launch of the DU Safe app to the university community, everyone who downloads this tool will have an expanded range of safety features in the palm of their hand. In addition to mobile blue light capabilities, friend walks, and other reporting capacities, DU Safe can push notifications to enable DCS to better share critical information during a crisis.

Preparing for any type of crisis can help mitigate its impact, including those that are online. There has been a significant increase in online threats and ransomware attacks over the last few years, and they are expected to continue. Unfortunately, because of their proliferation and sophistication, it is becoming commonplace to fall prey to online scams or phishing attacks. MarComm has partnered with IT to launch a campuswide cybersecurity awareness campaign to increase awareness and understanding of best practices and decrease the number of DU community members lured into these scams.

Over the next few weeks, with the help of some very special “phish,” the DU community will have several opportunities to test their knowledge of cybersecurity basics and have fun doing it, thanks to our partnership with Colorado Saint Bernard Rescue.