Kristina Anderson, Founder of LiveSafe, Leading Campus Safety App, Speaks at UB Feb. 6
January 14, 2014
Contact: University Relations
Phone: 410.837.5739
Kristina Anderson, chief evangelist for the LiveSafe app for student safety and an advocate for violence prevention efforts in schools nationwide, will speak at the University of Baltimore on Thursday, Feb. 6 at noon in the Moot Court Room in the John and Frances Angelos Law Center (home to the UB School of Law), 1401 N. Charles St. The event is free and open to the public.
A live webcast of this event will be available here shortly before the event begins on Thursday, Feb. 6 at noon, E.S.T.
Anderson is a survivor of the April 2007 mass shooting at Virginia Tech. Since then she has graduated from the institution, and has dedicated herself to the important issues of campus safety and emergency planning. As co-founder of LiveSafe, Anderson serves as a resource for violence prevention experts as she works with students and law enforcement across the country adopting the LiveSafe technology to lower barriers of communication and prevent crime.
Available to UB students, the LiveSafe app is designed to empower students, faculty and communities to stay safe by communicating with law enforcement in the event of virtually any situation where the user feels at risk or wishes to share information. The app is available to UB students, faculty and staff to download for free in the iTunes or the Google Play Store.
Anderson's Feb. 6 talk at UB is entitled "A New Era of Safety: How UB Is Empowering Students to Stay Safe and Be Aware."
"From first-hand experience, I know that student safety is always a very big priority for parents, universities and the students themselves—but very infrequently do we have an opportunity to discuss it before something happens," Anderson said. "I'm excited for the chance to share with the UB community my experience of having lived through a tragic mass shooting, my recovery and the lessons we've all learned, as well as to have a frank discussion about how LiveSafe's technology can help students feel more connected and symbiotic to the important work of UB law enforcement."
The University of Baltimore recently became the first institution of higher learning in Maryland to adopt the LiveSafe smartphone app. The LiveSafe app allows users to instantly communicate with UB police by reporting tips, placing emergency calls, messaging police and and discover safety resources. The LiveSafe application is designed for non-emergency tip reporting, however it also permits caller-initiated GPS location sharing. When the user initiates it to call 9-1-1, emergency responders will know his or her exact location so they can better serve and assist.
The LiveSafe application will be an instrumental part of UB's tool-kit approach to personal safety. In addition to the app, the UB community also implements a campus text message alert system and security patrols. Earlier this year, the UB Police Department became officially accredited by the International Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, one of the top honors in campus law enforcement.
UB students and faculty are encouraged to download the LiveSafe mobile app, available as a free download in iTunes and Google Play Store. To learn more about the application at UB, go here.
The University of Baltimore is a member of the University System of Maryland and comprises the College of Public Affairs, the Merrick School of Business, the UB School of Law and the Yale Gordon College of Arts and Sciences.