StateUniversity.com Ranks UM As Safest SEC Campus in National Study

Study indicates Ole Miss is the state’s safest campus

OXFORD, Miss. – The University of Mississippi has been ranked by StateUniversity.com as the safest Southeastern Conference campus in a new study of campus safety.

“To arrive at these ratings, StateUniversity.com compared crime statistics for more than 450 colleges and universities nationwide,” said Brad Folkens, lead engineer at StateUniversity.com. “Each school was assigned a safety score based on frequency and severity of crime reported.”

With a score of 93.8 percent, Ole Miss earned the highest safety rating of all SEC institutions included in the study. The University of Alabama, Auburn University and Louisiana State University did not submit enough data to be included.

“We are very pleased to be recognized as one of the safest campuses in the country,” said Larry Ridgeway, UM vice chancellor for student affairs. “Chief Sellers and his staff work very hard to provide our students, faculty and staff with a safe and secure campus. Receiving this recognition serves to make the University of Mississippi even more attractive to prospective students and their parents.”

The university also ranked as the safest campus in Mississippi.

“It’s with the help of the Oxford Police Department and the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Department that we are able to achieve this ranking,” said Calvin Sellers Jr., director of university police and campus safety. “UPD officers work very hard to make this a safe campus; I cannot express how proud I am that their hard work has resulted in this recognition.”

The StateUniversity.com Web site features information about schools, careers and financial aid. The site is a popular online destination for students, logging more than 1.4 million visitors monthly.

The state list is available online at http://www.stateuniversity.com/rank?by?state/safety?score?rank/MS.html.

The national list is available at http://www.stateuniversity.com/rank/safety?score?rank.html.