AMHERST, N.Y. – Daemen College has been recognized as one of the safest colleges in New York in a new statewide list released by backgroundchecks.org.

“This ranking speaks to Daemen’s commitment to make our campus a safe place to study, live and work and our proactive efforts to safeguard the well-being of our entire college community,” said Daemen President Gary A. Olson. “Fostering a safe campus environment is a high priority that we’ve addressed through various enhanced security initiatives.”

Over the past three years, Daemen has taken several measures to bolster campus safety, including enhanced training for officers, additional security cameras, and a vehicle to aid in response time.

Dr. Greg Nayor, vice president for student affairs, said the college takes campus safety efforts very seriously and that “we continue our comprehensive efforts toward making Daemen as safe a campus as possible for our students, faculty, staff, and visitors. Together, we strive to ensure a positive and safe experience for everyone on our campus, and we are continuously evaluating our initiatives to improve security.”

According to backgroundchecks.org, the 2016 Safest Colleges in New York list was compiled based on U.S. Department of Education reports, natural language analysis, social media sentiment analysis, and their own research.

“Daemen’s selection for this list is a true testament to a great administration, strong leadership, and student and community involvement to create a safe atmosphere that fosters an outstanding academic environment,” said Jessica Pierce, a public safety analyst at backgroundchecks.org.