Madison Shumway
Staff Writer
Visitors to the presidential suite in the administration building will be met with increased security measures.
Entering President Arthur Vailas’ office now involves speaking into a camera phone and announcing identity and intended business. The upgrades, completed in early summer 2016, were part of a larger preventative safety effort across campus, said Director of Public Safety Lewis Eakins.
“We’re actually being proactive to make sure that we anticipate where the gaps may be or where we may be most vulnerable,” Eakins said, adding that no dramatic events had taken place to spur the upgrades.
After noting the need for increased security at the building, Eakins spoke to Vailas, who agreed to the changes. “I haven’t worked with anyone who is as pro-security and safety as Dr. Vailas,” Eakins said. “We agreed upon what needed to be done, and it was off to the races.”
The changes weren’t anything out of the ordinary, he said, and reflected on what he’d observed at the campuses he’d worked at previously.
Similar measures are in place at Boise State University, according to a student attending the school, including a proximity card scanner that works by appointment.
“He’s the top executive for our campus, and in any corporation you just can’t walk into the CEO’s office like that,” said Eakins, who has 35 years of security and law enforcement experience. “So it was not done in any way to restrict access to him. He is a public figure, so the public does need to have access.”
The focus on Vailas’ office didn’t minimize the safety of other offices, Eakins said. The security at the presidential suite was just one issue he pinpointed in his now 16-month stint at the university.
He cited his department’s increased efforts to engage with the campus community, as well as new technology upgrades.
ISU now has close to 800 security cameras and 300 door-access card readers.
Eakins also mentioned Rave Guardian, a mobile app which features a panic button, crime tip reporting and a safety timer. Campus security has encouraged students to download and use the app.
“We have a very robust security countermeasures focus here that most schools do not have,” Eakins said.
To Eakins, the presidential suite upgrades kept in line with security changes in other parts of campus.
“Nothing happened to precipitate this action taking place. It was just something that I knew needed to be done,” said Eakins. “That was just one area.”
The added protections in the presidential suite were part of a broad emergency operations plan that covers incidents as drastic as plane crashes, train derailments and active shooters.
Though the plan will probably, and hopefully, never be used for those situations, Eakins said, the department has specific steps in place.
Keeping the presidential suite protected is one of those steps. “I know, having been in this business for more years than what I would like to say,” Eakins said. “When you have a high profile person, you need to make sure that there is an extra measure of safety for that person.”
