Cumberlands named safest campus in Kentucky for second consecutive year

Cumberlands was listed as the safest college campus in Kentucky in a recent 2020 ranking by YourLocalSecurity.com. The University was lucky number thirteen countrywide.

This is the second year in a row Cumberlands has ranked first in the state for campus safety.

“We do all we can to make sure our students are safe on campus,” said Emily Coleman, Provost for the University. “At the educational level, we offer several seminars regarding sexual assault, alcohol, and dating to students – particularly freshmen, since they are entering a college environment for the first time. We want our students to be able to recognize possible compromising situations so they can make safe choices. Additionally, and possibly most important, we want our campus body to understand the value and importance of respecting each other and themselves.”

Cumberlands also provides an easy-to-access call sheet for any number a student may need in the event of an emergency. 

YourLocalSecurity.com looked at data from the U.S. Department of Education’s Campus Safety and Security and the FBI’s 2018 Uniform Crime Report to inform their rankings.

The company offers security services through ADT Inc. and provides online resources to help inform customers how to better practice personal safety and keep their homes and businesses secure. They comb through data from college campuses across the country every year, posting their list of the top 25 safest campuses in the nation. 

This year’s listing noted, “While many campuses on our list have impressively low hate crimes and VAWA rates, University of the Cumberlands takes the cake for a hate crime and VAWA rate of zero per 10,000 people. Its property crime rate of 8.49 per 10,000 people is almost worth talking about—it’s still lower than twelve other schools on our list.”

Cumberlands has its own security force to handle minor issues and even walk students to their residence halls upon request. Both campus security officers and officers from the Williamsburg Police Department patrol campus continually to help ensure the safety and security of all students. At least one WPD officer is stationed on campus at all times.