The two substantial goals of the new program are the installation of “security technology” at points around campus, and an increase in the number of call boxes and lights around campus. The Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies as well as the Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center are being built with these security measures already in place, and the Center for Industrial Innovation was built with some of this technology in mind.

“This is all part of a recognition of the importance of security to campus life,” said Vice President for Administration Claude Rounds.

Rounds said that they have identified a few priority buildings for expanded security. The Armory, Folsom Library, Greene Building, and Voorhees Computing Center, among other areas that see a great deal of use by students after business hours, will see a great deal of increased security such as cameras and card readers. Rounds pointed out that this is not a huge change, as areas such as the Folsom Library already require you to have your ID late at night.

Rounds said that he is looking for faculty, staff, and students to be patient with the system as they examine what the needs of each area are after normal business hours. He explained that the best thing about these technologies is the ease with which their implementation can be changed as research shows that different uses are needed.

“As we implement it, we’ll be getting feedback on the system,” he said.

Despite rumors that the increase in security is in response to RPI losing several defense contracts due to lax measures in that area, Rounds said everything is tied back to their reaction to September 11.

“When we first implemented our plans in response to homeland security measures, we decided that the Rensselaer ID card will become more prominent,” Rounds explained. “There may be some programs in the future that require a degree of security as a part of that research, but that has not been the case to this point.”

Rounds said that the new programs are a part of an overall program that extends back to the use of proximity readers in the dorms and the recent addition of parking gates and a security guard in the Troy Building. He says that the feedback he’s received from these measures has been very positive. “I would say the student population as a whole has been very supportive of the program,” he said, continuing that he thought the faculty backed it as well.

The administration has not yet decided what measures will be put in place and when, but there will be significant work on the project this summer, and students can expect to see some changes at RPI next fall.

“We’re still developing a scope of work for this summer, and this may include the addition of some cameras, but that has not been decided yet,” Rounds said.

The expansion of security has raised some questions about personal privacy in many areas, including the Faculty Senate, which has been discussing the issue since last semester, when the implementation of parking gates prompted concerns about the logging of when faculty and staff enter and exit the parking lots. Rounds said that no specific policy changes are being made at this time, and probably will not be made for specific issues such as parking gates, but he would be interested in joining a committee for the development of a campus-wide security policy.