National Campus Safety Awareness Month 2026:
Call for Program Proposals

On Thursday, September 10, 2026, Clery Center will host its annual National Campus Safety Month Virtual Summit. We are excited to invite proposals to help create impactful sessions at the Summit and foster collaboration among those dedicated to safer college and university campuses.

Theme: Investing in Impact

Colleges and universities nationwide are reimagining campus safety in the face of increasingly limited resources. This year’s Virtual Summit will focus on one of higher education’s most pressing challenges: how to advance meaningful safety initiatives when budgets are tight.  Whether you’re seeking strategies to maximize existing funding or to advocate effectively for increased investment, the Summit will bring together industry experts to discuss practical, sustainable strategies. We’ll explore how to effectively use current allocations, secure long-term support, and embed safety as a core institutional value—aligning practices, mission, and long-term strategic goals to ensure lasting impact.

As with all of our National Campus Safety Awareness Month events and resources, the Summit is completely free. The Summit will be recorded and shared with registrants after the event. Registration is required.

Call for Proposals

Who can submit?

We welcome proposals from anyone who can speak to current trends, emerging issues, best practices and innovation in campus safety. Past presenters have included:

  • On-campus practitioners
  • Nonprofit leaders
  • Professional organizations
  • Industry experts
  • Professors
  • Parents and students

Sessions may be presented by individuals or groups.

If you have an important conversation to contribute, we want to hear from you! 

What are we looking for? 

A successful proposal should address how the field of campus safety can meet best practices, build new opportunities, or secure funding while institutions manage budgetary restrictions. Possible topics include: 

  • Emerging trends and issues impacting safety on college campuses
  • Institutional approaches to national or regional policy shifts
  • Leveraging advancements in technology while mitigating associated risks
  • Strategies for enhancing investment in campus safety & personnel needs
  • Securing or maintaining budgets through storytelling and data-driven advocacy 
  • Innovation in meeting established best practices through new methods
  • Identifying and addressing the root causes of campus safety concerns

This list is not exhaustive—if your proposed topic contributes to the conversation around campus safety, we encourage your submission. 

Sessions are each 50 minutes. Approximately 40 minutes should be used for content delivery. 10 minutes are reserved at the end for live Q&A from attendees.

Proposal Submission Requirements

Before submitting, please have the following ready:

  • Presenter(s) names, titles, organizations, and brief biographies (for groups over three, please upload a PDF with these details)
  • Session title (8-10 words preferred, 60 character max.)
  • A 150-word session overview
  • Proposed learning outcomes
  • Statement on how your session aligns with Investing in Impact
  • A Word or PDF document with a sample program outline and/or in-depth description of your session. (max. 1500 words)
  • Permission for Clery Center to record and share the session with registrants 

You may include additional supportive documents but it is not required. Other items you may include are:

  • A one-sheet describing a program being highlighted with links to a supporting website
  • A brochure from a local coalition or partnership built to address the topic issue or highlights presenters
  • Maps, infographics or other visual data that can assist in understanding either the proposal topic or the concern it addresses

We recommend that your additional supportive document uses a default font such as Arial, Times New Roman, Calibri etc. Please submit with either 12pt or 14pt font.

Clery Center will not share, distribute or use any information submitted to this form for any purpose other than to evaluate the content of the presentation. Submitting content does not grant Clery Center any ownership of the intellectual property contained therein.

Note: The submission form may not automatically save your progress. We strongly recommend you gather all information in advance of submitting the program proposal.

Important Dates

Proposal Due Date: Friday, May 1, 2026 by 5:00 PM ET/ 2:00 PM PT. 

Due to the limited number of sessions available, and the competitiveness of proposals, late submissions will not be accepted.

Notification Timeline: Confirmation of status will be sent to all submitters by Monday, June 8, 2026.

Questions? Reach out to Paul Hinkle, at [email protected].

Please only use this form if you wish to serve as a speaker and/or panelist at our Virtual Summit on Thursday, September 10, 2026. 

NCSAM 2026 Program Proposal Submission Form