AUSTIN, Texas — The University of Texas at Austin has extended its West Campus Ambassadors program to a second year and expanded its full scope of specialized safety, cleaning and hospitality services to cover a larger area. Today’s announcement follows a successful first year of operations for the team dedicated to revitalization of Austin’s West Campus neighborhood, which is home to more than 20,000 UT students each academic year and frequented by thousands of University employees and visitors.
Since beginning the program in August of 2023, the West Campus Ambassadors have:
- Escorted over 500 people safely throughout West Campus.
- Hauled away over 30,000 pounds of trash.
- Greeted and engaged with over 15,000 visitors.
- Removed over 2,000 pieces of graffiti.
During a news conference on The Drag today, UT President Jay Hartzell celebrated the accomplishments and outlined enhancements to the program for year two, including:
- Expanding the consistency and quality of safety and cleaning services across all the West Campus neighborhood, which is bounded by Lamar Boulevard, Guadalupe Street, 29th Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
- Extending the services of the Safety Ambassadors to be available 24 hours a day Thursday through Sunday, in addition to 7 a.m. to 3:30 a.m. Monday through Wednesday.
- Increasing the Ambassadors team from 18 members to 30.
The West Campus Ambassadors program is a part of the University’s comprehensive safety and security campaign and is the latest safety investment in the West Campus neighborhood since the University of Texas System Board of Regents allocated $8 million for improvements in 2020. Since that time, UT has installed high-activity location observation (HALO) cameras, opened a UT Police Department satellite office, and significantly increased the presence of UTPD foot and bicycle patrols, resulting in an appreciably more visible law enforcement presence.
“The safety of our students, faculty and staff continues to be our top priority, and we appreciate the West Campus Ambassadors for all they are doing,” said UT System Board of Regents Chairman Kevin Eltife. “We look forward to seeing the continued revitalization of West Campus and thank President Hartzell for his commitment to improving the area that surrounds our great University.”
“This is a remarkable program with proven results, and we are excited to extend the West Campus Ambassadors for a second year,” said Hartzell. “This program is one of many at UT that prioritizes the safety of our students, faculty and staff, and we believe the enhancements will continue to bolster the neighborhood. Thank you to the chairman and the Board of Regents for their investment and the business and community leaders who support this effort.”
The program complements other programs sponsored by UT including UT’s SURE Walk, which offers walks or rides from an on-campus location to the West Campus neighborhood and walks or rides from one on-campus location to another and UT Night Rides, which provides Lyft rides from the Main Campus, the J.J. Pickle Research Campus or Dell Pediatric Research Institute to an individual’s home.
The program is managed by Block by Block, a national leader in urban renewal and business district restoration. Block by Block has been at work in Austin for more than seven years, providing similar services to the Downtown Austin Alliance and the South Congress Improvement Association.
The West Campus Ambassadors are supported by over 70 businesses and community groups in the area — and the list is growing. View a full list of supporters at wcambassadors.org/supporters.
