AUSTIN, Texas — There's a new pilot program that aims to help revitalize Austin's West Campus neighborhood.
The "West Campus Ambassadors" pilot program will focus on the safety, cleaning and hospitality of the neighborhood where many University of Texas at Austin students live. Kevin Eltife, chairman of the University of Texas System Board of Regents, and UT Austin President Jay Hartzell announced the new program on Monday.
“The safety of our students, faculty and staff is the Board of Regents’ top priority, and we fully support the West Campus Ambassadors program,” Eltife said on behalf of the Board of Regents. “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. We are excited about the future and thank President Hartzell and his team for their leadership and partnership.”
The program will consist of two teams: safety ambassadors and cleaning ambassadors.
The safety ambassadors will work between 3:30 p.m. and 3 a.m., helping escort people to their destinations in the late evening and monitoring the area for unwanted activity. They will also work with law enforcement regarding any problematic situations.
The cleaning ambassadors will work between 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. They will comb the neighborhood, picking up litter and trash, pulling weeds, removing graffiti and stickers, pressure washing and cleaning street fixtures. They will also greet visitors, provide directions and work on homeless outreach and de-escalation.
“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,” Hartzel saidl. “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. We are thrilled to announce the West Campus Ambassadors program today. 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.”
West Campus will be broken into two zones with Nueces Street as the dividing line. Zone 1 will have safety and cleaning ambassadors operating daily, whereas Zone 2 will have only safety ambassadors operating daily and cleaning ambassadors operating as needed.
In 2020, the UT System Board of Regents put $8 million into improvements in the West Campus neighborhood. UT installed high activity location observation (HALO) cameras, opened a University of Texas Police Department (UTPD) satellite office and increased the UTPD foot and bicycle patrols in the area.
To coordinate an ambassador just call or text the West Campus Ambassadors hotline at 512-429-3278.