Take a break with Melinda Warthman ’94
Melinda Michael Warthman ’94 might have the most familiar name on campus. Her emails routinely alert campus to siren testing and warn of possible threats to community safety. Truth be told, she's become a bit of a celebrity. Right now, she also wears just about every UD hat possible — employee, faculty, alumna, student and parent.
Learn more about the multi-faceted person behind the messages.
What’s your official title?
I’m the University’s Clery compliance and records administrator. Because Clery Act compliance is a University obligation, I coordinate our efforts to follow federal law. The records administrator role is more specific to public safety, because even though we’re a private institution, the police department is subject to public records requests. I also manage emergency communication and update the department of public safety website and social media.
Describe the process of sending a notification to campus.
For safety advisories, our officers or partners in housing and residence life will recognize that an incident requires a timely warning to the campus community. They’ll call our chief of police, who will call me, and we’ll discuss a few things — whether it’s a Clery crime or if it poses an ongoing threat, for example. I’ll start drafting the announcement and reach out to the executive director of news and communications so she can look over the announcement. We share it with everyone who needs to see it — student development, legal, the equity compliance office — to make sure we’re addressing everyone this announcement might impact. They typically look at it very quickly, make suggestions and ask questions. The vice president of student development will alert the president that a message is forthcoming and update him on what it is. This all happens in 10 to 15 minutes, and sometimes we’re gathering information as I’m writing it.
Is this the process for all notifications?
When we have an emergency notification like a tornado warning, it doesn’t require any vetting. We type it fast and send it because we need to let people know when it’s coming and what to do.
How did you end up in this role?
It was quite a winding road. I earned my bachelor’s and master’s degrees from UD and was teaching the basic course, CMM 100, in the Department of Communication. Then I got this wild idea: Wouldn’t it be fun to go to law school? I graduated from the University of Dayton School of Law in 2008 and worked there with students in the bar passage program for a few years. In 2015, the person in public safety who handled Clery compliance as part of his other duties was retiring, and UD created a new position managing Clery compliance and public records. I think the thought was, “Let’s see if we can find somebody crazy enough to want to do that.” I’ve been in this position ever since.
“I felt like I was with family when I went to public safety.”
In a way, this type of job appealed to you, right?
It’s so funny because everyone in my family is in law enforcement. I was the only lawyer. It always made for fun family conversation about how I chose a different path, but when I landed in public safety, they said, “See, we knew you’d end up in the police department in some way!” In my family, we have police chiefs and federal air marshals, and my sister is one of just the few women who hold the rank of sergeant in the Ohio State Highway Patrol. I would always say, “No, not me” — and here I am now. I’m just comfortable with law enforcement, so I felt like I was with family when I went to public safety. I’m just used to being around people in uniform.
Did you expect to become a campus celebrity when you took this position?
Not at all! I teach one section of MGT 201, a business law course in the School of Business Administration, and some of my students have told me they see my name on the Yik Yak app all the time. My daughter is a mechanical engineering student, and she’s said, “Mom, people talk about you on Yik Yak.” I’m like, “Are you kidding?” I asked my daughter how it works. It’s a location-based app, so when you’re at UD, you can see what people here are posting.
“Mom, people talk about you on Yik Yak.”
What do they say?
One of my students stayed after class on a day after we’d sent about two or three emails over the weekend. Someone posted that I was up past my bedtime really working overtime. Another comment read, “Do you really think she’s up at 2 a.m. sending emails, or do they just send a message through her email address?” Someone else said, “No, they just use her email address. I saw them at public safety sending those messages.” My student saw those comments and asked me for the truth. I said, “I definitely do this. If someone supposedly watched me send an email, I need to look under my bed to see who’s spying on me! It was definitely me in my pajamas sitting at my desk sending those emails.”
What other interactions have come from your emails?
I’m working on a doctorate of education in leadership for organizations (at UD). It’s an online program, so I have professors and classmates from around the country — some as far as Florida, California or Colorado. They still get my emergency emails even though the situation doesn’t affect them because they’re on the "stu-announce" list. When I introduce myself, a few have asked, “Why do I know your name?” You can see the wheels turning sometimes when I say my name, so I always include, “You may recognize my name from those emergency emails ...”
“It was definitely me in my pajamas sitting at my desk sending those emails.”
What’s been your favorite comment?
I guess the emergency siren reminders the first Monday of each month are a perennial favorite. I’ve read on Yik Yak that I’m the most consistent thing in people’s lives right now because they know they’ll get their siren email every month.
You teach, you’re pursuing a doctorate – how do you do it all?
People ask me this all the time, and I say I don’t know either! I love teaching and it's the relaxing part of my day. I get to go and talk about things that interest me and try to get students excited about it. I like hearing about their interests and what they’re excited about, too. I think I have more time now to pursue different things since my oldest daughter graduated from UD in 2021 and my youngest daughter is here now. I also try to make time to volunteer at Brigid’s Path in Kettering at least once a week. It’s a recovery center for newborns with substance abuse exposure. I get to go and rock little babies, clean and do baby laundry. The organization does so much good work for families that are just so broken in a lot of ways and are starting to mend themselves.