Mission U Family,
Late Monday night, February 5, 2018, a Mission U student was assaulted on our campus while waiting for a friend. This assault happened by a person not associated with the campus of Mission University.  The student was hit in the head and the perpetrator made off with personal items from the student running across campus and onto Kearney St. This was a tragic event and we are very concerned for the student that endured this attack. We take events like this very seriously and do everything that we can to keep our campus safe. The Mission U security team and student life team quickly made their way to the scene after receiving word of what happened. Joined by Police and EMS, our teams did their very best to help our students and campus personnel that were on the scene.
It is important in times like these to remind our students of the resources available to them while living on the campus of Mission University.

All students can access:

  • A Security Hotline: (417) 268- 6022  Our students are encouraged to save this number in their phones and to call this hotline for any reason. This includes simply wanting an escort from their car to their dorms or apartments. This is a great benefit for those who work at night.
  • Fobs: Each student is issued a fob for security into Vick, Donnelson,  and Woodworth dorms, as well as Administration and Student Common areas. We ask students to use these and be cautious of those that are following them.
  • Security Patrols:  Mission U staffs 24/7 security on our campus. This means there is always an officer on duty for the college. In recent years we have seen an increase of off-duty police personnel pick up shifts for us adding additional protection.
  • Campus Text Alerts: When there is a campus threat that our security team is notified about, a text alert will be issued for the whole campus, if it involves a threat to our whole campus. To receive these text alerts each student should to go on to their student portal and approve their phone number for text alerts. This can be found on POPULI
  • Self Defense Classes: We are blessed to have Glenn Cozzens at the head of our security. Glenn is well versed in self defense, and has conducted free classes for ladies on our campus to help train them in the event of an emergency
  • Active Shooter Training: Every student is required to be trained, so that in the event of an active shooter situation, our campus would respond in the best way.

In light of the events from Monday Night, the President and the Administration met today to make adjustments and additions to our security measures on campus.

Here are some security measures that we will be implementing very soon:

  • Increased security from 11pm- 2am each night.
  • Increase the amount of trained off duty Police personnel on our security team.
  • Additional cameras installed in and around the D Building and its adjacent parking lot. 
  • Install additional lighting around stairwells, and parking lots for better visibility.
  • Install increased equipment in the Security post located by the Vick dorm.

Finally:

Please know we are praying for and doing our best to care for the student that was assaulted. This should never happen to anyone. And again, we want to ensure all of our students, and Mission U families that we are doing everything and will do everything we can to ensure a safe environment around the campus of Mission University. Please feel free to contact our campus for any questions or concerns.
God Bless,

  • Nate Harmon
  • Vice President of Student Affairs
  • Mission University 
  • nharmon@mission.edu
  • (417) 268-6007