Colleagues,
When students and employees walk onto our campuses, they should feel safe, supported, and ready to focus on learning and work. Providing safe and secure learning environments is one of our most important responsibilities and is foundational to our mission.
At this week's meeting, the Board of Trustees approved the addition of two School Resource Officers (SROs) to serve our colleges. These positions will complement the School Resource Officer already serving at Scott Community College.
Under this plan, Clinton campuses will partner with the Clinton County Sheriff's Office to provide an SRO, while the Muscatine campus will partner with the Muscatine Police Department. These officers will become valuable members of our campus communities, helping strengthen safety, build relationships, and support students, employees, and visitors.
As we begin this partnership, you may be wondering how the program will operate. The School Resource Officers will be scheduled during our primary peak campus hours, when student, employee, and visitor activity is highest. While these positions will not provide around-the-clock coverage, the schedule will include flexibility to accommodate major campus events and activities as needed.
More importantly, this initiative strengthens our connection with local law enforcement agencies and creates an ongoing partnership on our campuses. This is a strong starting point—one that enhances communication, builds relationships, and provides additional support for our students and employees. As with many important initiatives, we will continue to learn, evaluate, and make adjustments as we move forward.
This decision follows several months of work led by Jim Hawkes, who evaluated our campus emergency preparedness efforts and presented several options for consideration. After careful review, the addition of School Resource Officers emerged as the best fit for our colleges and communities.
The addition of SROs is one part of a broader effort to strengthen safety across Eastern Iowa Community Colleges. Several important initiatives are already underway:
- Rewriting and modernizing district-wide emergency response plans under the leadership of Jim Hawkes and a cross-functional task force.
- Developing comprehensive crisis communication plans led by Erin Snyder and Johnna Kerres.
- Reviewing campus notification systems to ensure timely, clear, and effective communication during emergencies.
- Creating a comprehensive safety training plan, led by Jim Hawkes, to ensure all college locations conduct appropriate safety drills and provide employees with essential training to prepare for and respond to emergency situations.
Taken together, these efforts reflect our commitment to continuous improvement and align directly with our mission of serving students and strengthening our communities. Safe campuses do not happen by accident or in response to an accident. They result from thoughtful planning, strong partnerships, ongoing training, and a shared commitment to looking out for one another.
We will continue to share updates as these initiatives move forward and as additional details become available regarding the new School Resource Officers.
Thank you to everyone contributing to this important work. I appreciate the collaboration, expertise, and care being invested in creating environments where students can learn, employees can thrive, and our communities can feel confident in the support we provide.
Safe Campuses. Stronger Communities.
Bryan Renfro, PhD
Chancellor
Eastern Iowa Community Colleges
101 West Third Street, Davenport
563-336-3301