Director of Campus Safety Bob Palmer (‘91) believes that Luther College is, interestingly enough, a lot like a National Park.
“You’ve got Facilities, you got who is going to lock that building up at night, what happens when there’s a water leak in [Brandt Hall],” Palmer said. “You’ve got all of these issues and all of these interfaces, and Campus Safety are the park rangers.”
Palmer took on the role of Director of Campus Safety and Security in January 2023 with a plan to rebrand into Campus Safety, a department with the mission of support. His experiences working for the National Park Service before, during and after his time as a student at Luther prompted these efforts.
“Our role in [Park Services] is trying to prepare people for what they are going to encounter out there,” Palmer said. “We provide information on how to get you prepared for that journey. That’s my next goal for Campus Safety, for us to all grow together and for students to become prepared for life at Luther and post-graduation.”
For Palmer, this preparedness includes future options for all students to become certified in First Aid, CPR, AED, and Stop the Bleed training. Additionally, Palmer told members of Luther’s Student Senate on November 9 that a project to improve students’ knowledge of car fitness is currently underway for the weeks leading up to winter break, and Luther’s security guards will be renamed “Campus Responders.” This change in title will also come with a change in uniform, as the department will trade all-black attire for a high-visibility jacket and green pants.
Dieseth Hall Director Arturo Diaz has witnessed Palmer’s work firsthand. He acknowledged that since Palmer took over as Director, he has prioritized training staff and connecting with Luther students.
“With different emergencies on campus, his staff has been able to handle each situation at hand no matter how uncommon the situation may be,” Diaz said. “[The] rebrand of campus safety aims to provide a department in which its focus is to assist and protect students. While it’s a great strategy, it will also take time to continue to build that trust and relationships with the student body.”
Another potential change coming soon is an increased use of the campus-wide alert system called Regroup. Over Thanksgiving break, a prescribed burn caught a tree on fire. With multiple people calling in the fire, Palmer said his phone “just kept going.” The situation that unfolded caused Palmer to believe the Regroup system could be used to send a mass alert, so members of the Luther community can be notified when incidents are being handled.
“When we have an incident that meets the criteria, we can send an alert message out,” Palmer said. “I want to get more dialed in with Regroup, so we are using that more for [incidents like the prescribed burn.”]
As a local to Northeast Iowa and a Luther alum, Palmer cares about the college and the campus community. He would like everyone across campus to recognize each other as fellow human beings rather than solely as the role they play.
“That is where I want to see us grow as a team, and when I say team, I mean the campus,” Palmer said. “That we recognize in extreme circumstances, that it is not a faculty member, not a staff member, not a student, it is a fellow human being. That might mean we need to chip in and do things we wouldn’t normally do. We do it out of love for our community and love of individuals.”
