KNOXVILLE — Students, faculty and staff at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, are encouraged to sign up for UT ALERT, a free text-messaging service that notifies the campus community of emergencies and warns of imminent danger.
Sign-ups can be completed online, and the UT Police Department will staff several locations on campus this week to assist people who want to subscribe.
The service was established last summer, and so far more than 11,000 people have signed up.
UT ALERT was used for the first time last week, and more than 2,000 subscribers have been added since then. The system’s first use was to announce the campus was opening two hours late on Jan. 22 because of icy road conditions. Its second use was to warn of a person with a gun in the Fort Sanders neighborhood near campus on Jan. 24.
Subscribing is a simple process that can be done by logging onto https://www.utk.edu/utalert/. Subscribers need to enter their NetID and password and then the number of the cell phone, PDA or pager they want to receive the alerts. UT ALERT can send messages to any mobile device that is capable of receiving text messages. Only members of the UT community are allowed to have UT ALERT accounts.
UT ALERT sign-up kiosks will be available at the following times and locations:
Today
• 5 to 6 p.m., Panhellenic Building
Wednesday, Jan. 30:
• 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., University Center, Cherokee Lounge (2nd floor)
• 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., Presidential Courtyard
• 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., Law School lobby
Thursday, Jan. 31:
• 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., The Commons, Hodges Library
• 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Volunteer Hall (formerly Knoxville Place)
• 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Campus Transit Station (adjacent to Neyland Stadium)
• 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., TRECS
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Contacts:
Jay Mayfield, UT media relations, (865) 974-9409, jay.mayfield@tennessee.edu
Elizabeth Davis, UT media relations, (865) 974-5179, elizabeth.davis@tennessee.edu