On Aug. 7, the University of Texas at Austin (UT) announced the formation of the West Campus Ambassadors pilot program, which seeks to revitalize one of the flagship university’s neighborhoods. The program will provide safety and cleaning services to the West Campus neighborhood.
“The safety of our students, faculty and staff is the board of regents’ top priority, and we fully support the West Campus Ambassadors program,” UT System Board of Regents Chairman Kevin Eltife said in an Aug. 7 press release. “Reviving and restoring the West Campus neighborhood is essential. It will produce much-needed change, and we want to play an active role in the program’s success.”
Per UT, the establishment of the West Campus Ambassadors program came three years after the board of regents voted for $8 million in improvements to the neighborhood. Since then, the university said, West Campus has high activity location observation (HALO) cameras, a campus police satellite office, and a more visible law enforcement presence. UT President Dr. Jay Hartzell expressed gratitude toward Eltife and the board of regents.
“Thank you to the chairman and the board of regents for their bold and unwavering leadership and for investing in the safety and revitalization efforts in West Campus,” Hartzell said in the release. “A thriving neighborhood bolsters the vitality of UT Austin, and we are committed to creating an environment that is safe and welcoming and that befits a world-class research university. This is one way for UT to do our part to improve the area, enriching the living and learning experiences of the University’s students, faculty, staff and visitors. We also want to thank the many business and community leaders who have already expressed public support for this effort.”
KVUE Channel 24 reports that safety ambassadors and cleaning ambassadors form the program. According to the station, the safety ambassadors will work between 3:30 p.m. and 3 a.m. while the cleaning ambassadors will work between 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The program can be reached at (512) 429-3278.