UWG Forges Strategic Partnerships to Promote a Secure Campus

When Dr. Kyle Marrero became president of the University of West Georgia (UWG), he made it abundantly clear that having an actively engaged and connected leadership and student population was a top priority. Safety and security were important components of this strategic initiative and are now part of an overarching mindset and philosophy — a calculated, top-down approach that envelops all aspects of the institution and is reflected in the processes, procedures and standards embraced by the university.

Security technology is, of course, critical to UWG. However, the university also takes a personal approach that embeds a security culture into all campus community representatives, emanating from the president and other campus leadership, to the chief of police and director of residence life, faculty, staff, students and even members of the off-campus community.

“Everything we do is designed to create a safe environment to help students succeed,” says Marrero. “Here we are in 2016 dealing with some of the most challenging times in our history in terms of threats to safety, and the fact of the matter is that things can happen anywhere.”

As such, the university takes a holistic approach to how it deals with some of the challenges of protecting its expansive campus. There are no gates or other outward signs of safety and security, but it’s there; from the outside in and inside out — all arising from a single goal of creating an environment where learning can be the focus and safety can create peace of mind.

Keeping this in mind, security decisions are not limited to exclusive personnel or police. Instead, all stakeholders are involved — such as faculty, staff, students, parents and local community leaders — in a proactive, comprehensive plan that allows students to focus on their education. Knowing that policies and procedures are developed, refined and in place helps mitigate a variety of security scenarios that could develop.

UWG Students Engage, Participate in Safety Efforts

A good example of the school’s overall philosophy is UWG’s engaged student body. A focus on security education starts before students even begin classes. University police officers lead sessions during freshman orientation that provide information ranging from policies and procedures to basic protective measures students can adopt. That education continues once students are on campus as officers make regular appearances in various classes, such as UWG 1101, to cover safety tips (residence hall safety, using the buddy system, etc.) that encourage students to do their part in making the campus more secure. Additionally, officers provide active-shooter training to any group of faculty or staff, and any class if their professor requests it.

Students are also encouraged to download UWG’s custom Wolf Guardian app and sign up for Wolf Alert notifications on their phones. This app turns any smartphone into a panic button and will send that person’s profile and GPS location to dispatch. All students, faculty and staff automatically receive Wolf Alert emails that come directly from UWG Police when there is an imminent threat to the campus, a serious weather advisory or even crime in a nearby area that is popular with students.

There’s also a student safety patrol operating seven days a week, as well as a buddy escort program administered through the UWG campus police department. The student-led campus safety walk involves Student Government Association (SGA) members who make a punch list of areas that may need addressing. That list could encompass simple things like pruning trees that are blocking lights on pathways to pinpointing campus locations that might benefit from the addition of technology, such as cameras or access control.

Brittany Goff, vice president of student life for UWG’s SGA, organized the most recent safety walk, and she believes the group helps students voice their safety concerns to administrators.

“Students definitely think about security, but they often don’t have a way to express their concerns or they don’t know who to go to,” Goff says. “That’s why I love being in student government, because I get to be that voice for them. I get student input all the time, and they have great ideas. They just need a way to get those ideas to the right people.

Security Technology Helps with Emergency Response

While not all safety initiatives are student-led, at UWG they are definitely student-focused.

“Another initiative we are extremely proud of is our one-call system,” states Stephen Whitlock, who is UWG’s director of housing and residence life. “With this system, there is one number for students to call 24/7 in the event of an emergency that dispatches staff through radio communications, [improving] response time exponentially.”

There are also daily safety patrols of resident halls and an escort program to accompany students to halls or parking areas after hours.

“We know safety and security has to be real-time, proactive and spawn greater awareness,” Whitlock adds. “We are a big campus, so we have to use technology to make sure we have extra eyes. But safety and security aren’t just cameras and night watches. It’s a comprehensive, proactive plan to do the right thing and make sure our students are safe.”

Assisting the university with its comprehensive security strategies is Stanley Security, which works closely with UWG stakeholders to be certain sufficient plans are in place and that the deployed technology and partnerships yield ongoing successes, says Kyle Gordon, Stanley’s vice president of campus solutions.

“It’s exciting to see a university like UWG and the partnerships that campus leadership promotes within their community, as well as with us as their security integrator,” Gordon says. “It’s refreshing to see how engaged the students and faculty are on security measures, and that’s making a difference like we’ve not seen before.”

Marrero says the university focuses on communication and preparation so everyone on campus knows what to do during an emergency.

“As a university president, this can be the defining moment of the institution, and we have to be ready for it every day,” he says. “We are incredibly proud of the work we have done, but we are in continuous improvement mode. We know technology changes, and we want to ensure we have best practices in place and rely on the professionals to help us achieve our goals.”

Upgraded Security Equipment Delivers Efficiencies

Leading the security installations and development of standards for the implementation of technology at UWG is Campus Police Chief Tom Mackel. The school has a variety of security technologies in place and continues to upgrade solutions with newer access control and surveillance.

When Mackel started at the university in 1991, however, the systems in place were outdated and inefficient.

“Our previous surveillance system had multiple platforms, which were cumbersome since our 911 dispatchers had to log out of one system and then log into another to view the feeds from different cameras around campus,” he says. “And when I first came on board, no one had cell phones, so the blue-light emergency stations were installed and stationed at various locations around campus, which allowed anyone on campus to call 911 whether they were in a building or not. But that technology is now 20 years old.”

Over the years, and with the support of UWG, Mackel has embarked on a mission to improve safety at the university. He first created the standard on how to address crime prevention on campus and how to protect each of the different facilities on campus, which led to the installation of upgraded and more efficient equipment.

Some of the current security infrastructure includes Best electromechanical locks, which allow for detailed transaction histories, assisting in investigations and determining peak traffic times; Stanley Wi-Q wireless locks, which allow university police to identify users, track stolen ID cards and change access clearance more efficiently; alarm intrusion detection; the continued proliferation of surveillance cameras and current standardization on the Avigilon video management system, which began several years ago and makes viewing feeds more efficient; centralized Lenel access control software, making installation and repairs easier; and newer LED lighting, which improves visibility for identifying suspects and vehicles. UWG also has a fiber optic infrastructure it leverages for its networked security, which allows campus police to utilize live feeds and add as many cameras as the institution needs.

Grants Pay for More Security Cameras, Other Improvements

The safety and security plan, as well as the technology implementation, are ongoing. Mackel adds that some of the money UWG was awarded from a Stanley Security grant will be used to install more surveillance cameras at a major university thoroughfare.

“The dollars will be instrumental in giving us extra eyes across the campus,” he says. “We know safety and security have to be proactive and generate greater awareness. We are a large campus, so we have to use technology to make sure we have that extra set of eyes.”

Students say they are excited about the upgrades.

“The video cameras are definitely a good idea because they can capture what really happens,” says senior Ariel McBride. “I’m a commuter student, and I have one class that ends at 8 p.m. The lampposts are really important to me because walking in the dark through the parking lots can be scary.”

Sophomore Landon Carver agrees that more cameras and more light would be a welcome addition to campus.

“I think [installing more lights] would be really helpful to improve safety measures,” he says. “I feel like there aren’t enough lampposts. I have a lot of classes that end at night, and it’s really dark.”

Although security may not seem like an obvious priority for a university, Dr. Marrero says it’s an integral part of the work faculty and staff do behind the scenes to ensure UWG achieves its primary objective: student success.

“We are proud of our safety and security track record and our students who have had their lives transformed by quality instruction, engaging in campus activities, graduating and going on to lead productive lives,” Marrero says. “We do everything to ensure they can learn and prosper here; it’s a critical, distinctive part of what we do and the philosophy and credo at UWG, and we want to continue on this path.”

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