Foundation raises awareness in slain Pullman woman’s memory
Lauren McCluskey was 21 when she was killed outside her dorm at the University of Utah
Three years after her daughter’s death, Jill McCluskey and the foundation she and her husband started continue their work to raise awareness about campus safety worldwide and to keep several Pullman events top of mind in the community where her daughter grew up.
Lauren McCluskey, a Pullman native, was a 21-year-old student and track and field athlete at the University of Utah in 2018 when she was shot and killed outside of her dorm room by a man she briefly dated despite her many attempts to warn authorities about the threat the man posed.
The Lauren McCluskey Foundation works to honor her legacy by supporting charitable work in her name.
Three fundraising events — a road race, self-defense class and dinner and auction — are scheduled today in Pullman, but these events are only part of the work the foundation has been doing over the past three years.
Jill McCluskey said it’s been a big year for the foundation and the family.
In April, Jill and her husband, Matt, both Washington State University professors, ended their federal lawsuit against the University of Utah and others after receiving payment from a settlement agreement reached last fall.
As for the foundation, Jill McCluskey said it has been working to provide funding for underprivileged athletes, especially track and field athletes, for travel or equipment. It also helped fund the Lauren McCluskey Cat Wing at the Whitman County Humane Society because of her love of cats.
A scholarship fund was started at the University of Idaho, and the foundation established an endowment fund at the University of Utah in 2018 for student athlete scholarships. It also supported legislation that passed in Utah for the training of campus police to see warning signs missed in Lauren McCluskey’s case.
“Our major area has been campus safety, and our major project is Lauren’s Promise,” Jill McCluskey said.
Lauren’s Promise is a way for professors and groups to show students they are ready to listen and help students who feel they are being threatened. Jill McCluskey said more than 150 colleges and universities across the U.S., Canada and Europe have had at least one professor make the promise.
“We want them to mean it,” she said.
Professors who make the promise receive a sticker for their door and also are encouraged to add a sentence or two about it in their syllabus for their students to see. The sticker reads, “I made Lauren’s Promise. I will listen and believe you if someone is threatening you.”
Jill McCluskey said the promise is not just for professors but anyone who wants to support those who need it. She said the foundation is working with experts to develop handouts for universities about how they can better respond to reports of relationship violence.
Student groups from Washington State University, the University of Idaho and University of Utah are planning Oct. 22 memorial walks around their tracks to mark the third anniversary of Lauren McCluskey’s death, her mother said.
Nelson is the news clerk at the Moscow-Pullman Daily News. She can be reached at knelson@dnews.com.
Lauren McCluskey Foundation events
Race for Campus Safety: The Lauren McCluskey Race for Campus Safety is scheduled from 9-10 a.m. today at Mary’s Park in Pullman. Registration is required and can be done at this shortened web link: bit.ly/3AX3PMU. Tickets start at $30 for the 5K race and $35 for the 10K. Student discounts are available. The children’s 1K race costs $10.
Self-defense class: The foundation, teamed with the Washington State University Association for Faculty Women, will offer a free self-defense class from 1-3 p.m. today in Chinook Room 20 on the WSU campus. The class is for women 15 and older. No registration is required. Participants will learn physical and mental training for the most common threats to their safety from simple grabs to strangulation scenarios. The course is taught by Mesa Weidle, one of Lauren McCluskey’s former teammates.
Dinner and auction: The foundation’s third annual dinner and auction is scheduled 5:15 p.m. today at Ensminger Pavilion, 455 Lincoln Drive, Pullman. The registration deadline has passed, but information on how to donate and otherwise support the foundation can be found at laurenmccluskey.org.
