Director of Public Safety Michael Campbell shared updates within the BGSU Police Department and other areas regarding campus safety.

The BGSU Police Department has hired three new officers. One starts this Friday as he is already certified in the state of Ohio and the other two will be headed to the police academy on Feb. 13.  

Campbell presented the information during the BGSU Undergraduate Student Government meeting on Monday, Jan. 30.

Campbell also talked about a few grants that were approved for university police including the Ohio Capital Funding Grant which is $175,000. This money will go towards a radio system upgrade allowing them to more easily contact state police and other state agencies. 

Another grant that was approved is the Ohio Safety Grant allocating $278,000. This will be used to place cameras around the outside of campus as well as high pedestrian areas. Campbell stated, “It doesn’t give us complete coverage but it’s a start.”

Campbell also mentioned that BGSU Police are getting to the final stages of becoming nationally accredited. To do so, they have to meet 183 different standards including compliance documentation and testing for all officers when they review and sign off on certain policies. 

Upon being accredited, BGSU will join three other campuses in the state of Ohio to be accredited.

“Definitely a big accomplishment and a ton of work has gone into this,” Campbell said.

Campbell also stated that Emergency Management is already making preparations for the solar eclipse happening in 2024. Bowling Green is in the “line of totality,” meaning lots of people are expected to travel here. 

Campbell referenced the eclipse in 2017 where Kentucky was in the “line of totality” stating, “There were towns in Kentucky that normally have a population of about 10,000 or 15,000 residents that ended up having about 80,000 people show up.”

 Campbell floated the idea of potentially turning this into an event on campus.

Arriving in the middle of Campbell Hill and East Wooster, there will be a new roundabout coming this summer. Construction will start after commencement and it will be complete before fall move in.