March

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Safety Enhancements in Stadium Parking Lots

March 13, 2025

TO:              UMMC Faculty, Staff and Students

FROM:          Dr. Alan Jones, Associate Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs

SUBJECT:    Safety Enhancements in Stadium Parking Lots

We take very seriously the safety of everyone – employees, students, patients, visitors, contractors, etc. – who visits any UMMC facility, campus or parking area. We fully investigate all reported incidents for ways to improve security. In the past couple of years, many safety enhancements have been made to the parking lots around Veterans Memorial Stadium, and we are always evaluating changes to current procedures and new ways to improve security. Some of these recent changes have been highlighted in VC Notes and other communications.

It is important that we make every effort for the stadium lots – where most of our workforce and all of our students park – to be as safe as possible. Following Sunday evening’s reported assault of an employee in the stadium lot currently under investigation, we began working diligently on Monday to make some immediate and sustainable changes to the security in those areas.

Some of the new enhancements are:

  • Temporary improvements to light poles and supplemental lighting to make the lots brighter – with permanent improvements in the works.
  • A minimum of three UMMC Police or contract officers from the Mississippi Department of Public Safety will be assigned exclusively to the stadium lot at all times, with more present during peak times. These officers will be on foot, bikes or in UTVs and cars. Additionally, other UMMC Police personnel, including supervisors, detectives and command staff, will perform routine and frequent rounding through the stadium lots.
  • All employees and contract staff are allowed to park in an on-campus garage on weekends. Request this access by contacting parking services at Facilitiesservices-parking@umc.edu. Students may park on weekends in any open on-campus surface lot where the entrance bar is raised.

Also, please take this opportunity to review other safety related items that have been previously implemented:

  • A transportation van runs from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m., seven days a week and will pick up from the front of the adult tower front entrance and drop you at your vehicle in the stadium lot. You can also request pick up from other shuttle stops by calling 601-317-0440.
  • A shuttle bus runs every weekday night from 6 p.m. to midnight that stops at all major shuttle stops.
  • Employees with shifts beginning at 11 a.m. or later have longstanding access to on campus parking seven days a week. Request for this access should be made through your supervisor/manager.
  • On evenings, nights and weekends, employees and students can request a UMMC police escort to or from your private vehicle. If you would like an escort, please call 4-1360.
  • Through the Everbridge smartphone app, which is part of our Alert U notification and safety program, you are able to trigger live tracking at any time and have quick access to an alert button that automatically connects to UMMC Police and provides your location.

We also encourage all employees and students to be aware of their surroundings at all times and notify UMMC Police of any concerning or suspicious activity. We are thankful to have UMMC police leadership and academy-trained officers daily working for our personal safety. These men and women want to do anything necessary to protect you and allow you to better focus on your job or studies.