The University set in motion several initiatives to build upon existing security systems within weeks of the tragic shootings that left 32 people dead at Virginia Tech last year.

But interviews with University security and administration officials revealed the University has not officially adopted an “out with the old, in with the new” mentality in regards to safety improvements.

“Frankly, in the work of our committee . one thing we realized was that the University is already doing a great deal to provide good systems of safety and security for faculty, students and staff,” said Kathy Pharr, chairman for the now inactive Emergency Preparedness and Communications Committee and assistant vice president of finance and administration. “We would make an already good system better.”

The committee was one of two groups charged by University President Michael Adams in May 2007 with the task of recommending improvements in University security.

The committee released its final report of 16 recommendations in September, which included mandatory UGAAlert participation, surveillance camera installation at Sanford Stadium, improvements in University Police retention, addition of Enhanced 911 and Reverse 911 phone systems and the creation of a behavioral assessment and intervention team.

UGAAlert was mandated in December 2007 for all students, faculty and staff.

At the time of the report, more than 130 people provided security at the University, with more than $7 million spent annually on related initiatives, Pharr said.

“We are definitely a leader in this area,” she said. “We’re already doing a lot, and we’re making a significant investment to do even more.”

The fight for funding of security programs is half the battle, since the University competes with other public institutions for limited state dollars.

A list of 14 security initiatives was submitted by the University to the Board of Regents in March to be considered for funding, with each program costing no more than $100,000, Pharr said.

Included in the requests was more funding to replace existing doors with swing-type door hardware, Pharr said. In January, the exit doors of the main library were replaced to give the physical plant an idea of how much the project could cost to outfit other high-occupancy buildings.

“We will accomplish it as funds allow,” she said. But, she said, the University is “out in the lead.”

“We’ve become the template for other schools to follow,” she said.

To counter the start-up costs for new security additions, the University got “creative” and found extra money, Pharr said.

The Office of Security and Emergency Preparedness helped University Police acquire a grant from Homeland Security and the Georgia Emergency Management Agency to install surveillance cameras at Sanford Stadium.

University police met with architects last week to discuss design plans, and vendors can bid now, a police official said.

“We’re working through the process now on the design and putting out a bid for the implementing process,” University Police Chief Jimmy Williamson said in a telephone interview Thursday.

The 16-camera system will feature “fairly high-powered” devices but will not be a “complete system,” he said.

The plan is to install a “basic system” that can be “built upon based on needs,” Williamson said. The cameras will be installed for a year or two for review before further action is taken to upgrade.

“I feel this is a good start,” he said.

To supplement the ongoing efforts to prevent emergencies, the Behavioral Assessment and Response Council was launched March 18 by administrators.

The committee will function as a depository for information collected by various campus organizations regarding suspicious student behavior, a committee chair said. The committee then will determine the appropriate action to help “connect the dots” in a threatening situation.

“This is a very complex sort of initiative,” Rodney Bennett, committee chairman and vice president for student affairs, said. Since its inception, the group has not evaluated a student’s behavioral health, he said, allowing time to define protocol.

“What we’re trying to do now is figure out where to begin,” Bennett said. “The question is to create some new system to get information or to use systems already in place.”

The committee has met twice since March to analyze other schools and create a suitable model for the University.

“It’s a fluid process with ongoing adjustments,” he said. “One important factor is the ability to bring together organizations on campus who may receive critical information about a student.”

For now, students should report suspicious activities or persons using the same protocol as “prior to the Virginia Tech shooting,” Bennett said.

“We ask people to continue to report to campus police and then have the police refer to BARC while plans for a new system are finalized,” he said.

The eight members of the committee have “extensive experience working with students,” Bennett said. It is not unique for such a committee to exist on campuses since the Virginia Tech shootings, he said.

A student may be called before the committee because of suspicious behavior, such as threatening the health or safety of another student. The committee may bar a student from campus or mandate a psychological assessment, but Bennett said the goal is not to be purely punitive.

“We’ve been charged with making difficult decisions,” he said, the priority of which is to “help students who may be struggling to get the help they need.”

“There had been no historical event like Virginia Tech,” Williamson said. “You’ve got rational people trying to think for how irrational people may be planning.”

Williamson said his 77-member police force needs help from the community to ensure safety as well.

“With the daily population of 40,000, if we’ve got 10 to 12 officers here at a time, that’s not the saturation that the community thinks we have,” he said.

University Police spend $30,000 of a $4 million budget on training, he said. The Emergency Preparedness and Communications Committee said the school should pay more for retention.

But Williamson said such efforts were already in place prior to the report.

“Everybody keeps moving the bar up,” he said. “It’s important to maintain as many officers that we train and who get to know this community. It serves everyone better.”

Next year’s budget will be released soon, Williamson said, and he will see if the recommended increase in salary for retention and recruiting of officers is funded.

“We never know when that disaster’s going to hit,” he said. “We all get better based on historical events.”

Efforts to equip each department on campus with a designated safety expert are underway through the Office of Security and Emergency Preparedness, Steven Harris, emergency operations manager for the office, said.

The Building Safety and Security Representative Program works with deans and department heads to train staff in emergency preparedness.

“More than 75 percent of departments are participating,” Harris said, “And they’re continuing to add on.”

This May, about 50 senior administrators will undergo National Incident Management System training, which provides a comprehensive approach to emergency management, Pharr said. Training for senior administration was recommended by the Emergency Preparedness and Communications Committee, but the University adopted the program in March of 2006, according to an Office of Security and Emergency Preparedness report.

“We quickly realized you can’t think of emergency response in isolation at UGA,” Pharr said. “Whatever happens here has strong possibility of crossing over to the Athens community.”

University and Athens-Clarke County Police officers have been working together in security efforts, she said, which gives the University a “leg up on other schools.”

The University phone systems are in the process of being replaced before the service expires in June 2009. The new system will feature Reverse 911 and Enhanced 911 capabilities, Pharr said.

Reverse 911 allows emergency response officials to isolate building phone numbers. Enhanced 911 allows them to immediately find a caller, saving time, she said.

Like the surveillance system for Sanford Stadium, bidding for vendors for the phone system is out with responses expected in May. The process is “really complicated,” Pharr said. “The bottom line is we are making progress.”