Wichita State officials brief regents on campus security upgrades, mass‑casualty exercise and Title IX changes

Wichita State officials briefed the Board of Regents on a series of campus‑safety upgrades and on changes to Title IX and hazing reporting.

Stacia Bowden, Wichita State's general counsel, introduced campus safety leaders, and Captain Corey Hurrell of the University Police Department described operational changes including a campuswide electronic lockdown system tied to dispatch, expanded camera coverage including three mobile trailer camera systems, and license‑plate recognition at all campus entrances. "Since January of '23, we've had 45 sessions, which allowed us to teach around a thousand people how to respond in case of an active shooter," Hurrell said, describing the university's active‑shooter training program and its inclusion of federal 'Stop the Bleed' training.

Hurrell said the department worked with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) on an assessment for a major event venue and has implemented several of CISA's recommendations. He also said Wichita State is piloting drone (UAV) support for events and search tasks and will deploy mobile camera trailers to extend surveillance coverage where permanent cameras would be costly. Hurrell noted the university plans a mass‑casualty exercise this spring involving local and federal partners — including Sedgwick County fire, EMS, the FBI, the ATF, the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA — and said it may be the largest such scenario conducted in Kansas.

Dr. Courtney McHenry, associate vice president for civil rights, Title IX and ADA compliance (CTAC), outlined staffing changes, two new deputy Title IX coordinators, and plans to implement the Stop Campus Hazing Act (the transcript records the law as signed in December). She said CTAC is updating Title IX and EEO policies in response to 2024 litigation affecting federal Title IX regulations, creating new training resources and adding a training page to the university website. When asked whether a student can appeal a Title IX investigation that concludes no wrongdoing, McHenry said yes: appeals go to a trained appeals officer and staff route appeals to the appropriate officer depending on whether the subject is a student, faculty or staff member.