Parents & Families
To our new UR students and families,
The fall semester will soon be here and all of us at the University of Richmond look forward to welcoming you to our campus community. I consider it an honor to work with the students in my role as leader of the Student Development division.
I want to take this occasion to make parents and students aware of three opportunities available to families of the University of Richmond community. The first two involve the parents. Parents have the opportunity to be added to our Emergency E-mail Service. I will use this service only in the event of a campus crisis or other major news event impacting the University. For example, during a serious weather emergency, I will use this service to communicate the status of campus operations.
The e-mail service is just one of a number of programs in place to help us maintain a safe and informed campus community. Tragic events in recent years have prompted us to review all of our emergency management policies. I am proud to say that I work on a campus dedicated to the team approach toward campus safety. Campus personnel in many areas including Police, Residence Life, Counseling and Psychological Services, Student Health, Communications, Information Technology Services and auxiliaries are very committed to ensuring our campus is prepared to respond effectively to campus crises.
The second opportunity for parents is to subscribe to the online version of RichmondNow. This is the University’s official monthly news publication that will provide you with timely information about the latest news and events taking place on campus. RichmondNow regularly features profiles about our outstanding students, faculty and staff.
Finally, it is very important for all students to take the time to enter their emergency contact information. I am part of a committee that has made a number of important decisions regarding emergency preparedness. One was the University’s decision to contract with a text messaging service that will assist us in notifying students in the event of a serious emergency. In the case of a crisis such as severe weather or personal family issues, and in light of recent tragedies on several college campuses, we want to make sure we have student emergency contact numbers in our computer system. As you may know, we put the basic information that we receive upon admission in our annual phone directory. We need to have secondary information and cell numbers on file as well (but not published) to better respond in emergency situations. In order for the process to work, we need to have emergency contact information entered prior to the start of the school year. Students can enter the information by:
- Logging in to BannerWeb
- Clicking on the "Student Services" menu
- Selecting "Emergency Information Collection"
Students can update this information at any time as it changes.
I hope you have a wonderful summer. Please do not hesitate to contact me if I can provide additional information.
Sincerely,
Steve Bisese
Vice President for Student Development
