Lauren McCluskey Foundation continues its race for awareness

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 Lauren’s legacy by supporting charitable work in her name.

Three fundraising events — a road race, self-defense class and dinner and auction — are scheduled for Saturday 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, 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 Lauren’s love of cats.

Other notable events from the past three years include the start of a scholarship fund at the University of Idaho. In addition, a law was passed in Utah for the training of campus police to see warning signs missed in McCluskey’s case. The foundation started an endowment fund at the University of Utah in 2018 for student athlete scholarships.

“Our major area has been campus safety and our major project is Lauren’s Promise,” 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. McCluskey said more than 150 colleges and universities across the United States, Canada and Europe have had at least one professor make the promise.

“We want them to mean it,” McCluskey 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.”

McCluskey said this promise is not just for professors but anyone who wants to support those who need it. McCluskey said they are working with experts to develop handouts for universities on how they can better respond to reports of relationship violence.

On Oct. 22, student groups from Washington State University, the University of Idaho and University of Utah are planning a memorial walk around their track, McCluskey said. Oct. 22 will be the third anniversary of Lauren’s death.

Kali Nelson is the news clerk at the Moscow-Pullman Daily News. You can reach her with feature story ideas at knelson@dnews.com.

Saturday’s Lauren McCluskey Foundation events

Race for Campus Safety: The Lauren McCluskey Race for Campus Safety is scheduled from 9-10 a.m. 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 5-kilometer race and $35 for the 10K. Student discounts are available. The children’s 1K race costs $10. Check the registration website for more race information and options as well as packet pickup details.

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. in Chinook Room 20 on the WSU campus. The class is for women 15 and older. No registration 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’s former teammates.

Dinner and auction: The foundation’s third annual dinner and auction is scheduled 5:15 p.m. 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.