Campus Security
The Department of Public Safety strives to maintain a pro-active approach to campus safety utilizing various resources to patrol and respond to various situations.
Our Vision is to provide a safe, Christian environment to the Harding community.
The Department of Public Safety is pleased to offer the following services to members of the Harding Community:
- Assisting in unlocking your vehicle (or getting a locksmith) when you have locked your keys inside.
- Assisting in jump starting your vehicle when it won’t start.
- Providing courtesy escorts to students, staff and faculty on campus or back to campus during night time hours.
- Providing medical transport and emergency first aid.
- Campus patrols 24-hours a day, every day of the year.
- Emergency phones for immediate assistance in emergency situations.
- 24-hour video surveillance in select areas.
Programs & Services
Active Shooter Preparedness
Active Shooter Response
Active shooter incidents have become all too frequent. What was once unthinkable is now today’s reality. One of the primary focuses of armed officer training for Public Safety is active shooter mitigation and response. Officers train regularly to rapidly respond to, and neutralize, an active shooter threat. Public Safety officers work closely with the Searcy Police Department to ensure that campus remains a safe environment.
Active Shooter Preparedness Training
Active shooter preparedness training is offered periodically to the Harding community. This course informs participants of how to be prepared should an active shooter situation occur on campus. The course is based on the Run.Hide.Fight© curriculum developed by the City of Houston in conjunction with the Department of Homeland Security. This course is only available to Harding University students, faculty, and staff.
AEDs on Campus
Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs) are devices which can greatly improve a person's chance of survival in the case of a heart attack. A victim's chances of survival increases the more rapidly CPR is started and an AED is applied. The chart below identifies the location of each unit and a photo of the AED unit to assist in rapid access to the unit.
Building | Specific Location |
Administration Building AED | West hallway of lobby, across from men’s restroom |
American Heritage Building AED | Northeast corner of lobby, next to handicap ramp |
Baseball Clubhouse AED | Immediately inside the front door of clubhouse |
Benson Auditorium AED | Main lobby by center doors |
Camp Tahkodah AED | In the back of the Mess Hall by Infirmary and restrooms |
Farrar Health Science Building AED | Main lobby at base of stairs, next to restrooms |
Ganus Athletic Center (Football Hallway) AED | Hallway past Football Weight Room outside the Athletic Training Room |
Ganus Athletic Center (Gym/Weight Area) AED | Inside the gym in the northeast corner. Next to gym entrance, by water fountain |
Ganus Athletic Center (Pool/Racquetball Hallway) AED | Hallway past racquetball courts across from pool doors |
Ganus Athletic Center (Training Room) AED | Inside northeast Corner of Athletic Training Room |
Harding Academy Elementary AED | In the hallway, outside of teacher workroom |
Harding Academy HighSchool AED | In the hallway, outside of High School Office |
Harding Academy HighSchool Gym AED | Northwest corner of Harris Gym |
Harding Academy Middle School AED | In the east middle school hallway, just inside double metal interior fire doors |
Honors House AED | Located in a lower cabinet in middle hallway (ask staff for location/retrieval) |
Library AED | Next to Midnight Oil on glass classroom wall. |
McInteer Bible Building AED | 2nd floor, next to central staircase |
Memphis Campus AED | Located in the HST Library |
Northwest Arkansas Campus AED | Next to elevator on the first floor |
Physical Therapy Building AED | Next to bathrooms by main office |
Rhodes Field House AED | Southeast corner of building, by exterior metal doors |
Soccer Complex AED | East exterior wall, next to bathrooms |
Softball AED | Kept in home dugout during games |
Student Health Services (Nurse) AED | Ask staff for location/retrieval |
Swaid Nursing Building AED | Next to lobby restrooms on first floor |
Thornton (American Studies) AED | Next to first floor elevator/restrooms on Thornton side of the building |
University Aircraft AED | Ask pilot for location/retrieval |
The Department of Public Safety can provide training to anyone interested in learning how to perform CPR and use the AED. Please Sign Up for a class or call the Parking & Transportation Office at 501-279-4005 for more information.
Emergency Call Boxes
Emergency call boxes have been placed in strategic locations on campus. If there is criminal activity or a physical emergency, a person should press the CALL button on the box and report the problem to the Public Safety dispatcher. There is a direct line from each call box to the Public Safety Office. Officers are immediately dispatched to the locations of all emergency call box calls regardless of the call.
Courtesy & Safety Escorts
Students, staff and faculty may call the Public Safety Office for an escort from anywhere on campus to any other location on campus after dark. Students working off campus may also request escorts back to campus after dark if they make special arrangements.
C.A.S.E.
The Courtesy And Safety Escort (C.A.S.E.) Program was created originally to provide safe transportation for women to and from their dorms. The program was so successful that it was expanded to include the entire student body. The first year resulted in over 14,000 rides! Each evening, two golf carts are available to provide rides anywhere on campus. The drivers are trained members of the Public Safety Office and are equipped with the same radios as officers. The drivers, not only provide rides, but also are trained to report any emergencies or criminal activity.
All students must be in the residence halls or University apartments at the curfew hour set by the administration and Board of Trustees. Any student needing to be out later than the set curfew must receive late permission from the appropriate personnel. Off-campus students are not permitted on campus after curfew unless they have permission from a school official.
Lighting
Major steps have been taken to increase night time visibility on campus. All areas of campus are now well lit. Parking lots are constantly monitored to ensure all lights are working properly and there is sufficient lighting in each parking lot. All concerns regarding lighting are seriously considered and addressed.
Access to Residence Halls
Every residence hall has a live-in manager and several resident assistants. All residence halls have a monitor on duty from 11:00 a.m. until curfew(midnight on weekdays and 1:00 a.m. on weekends) located in the lobby of the residence hall. Members of the opposite sex are not allowed in any of the living areas of the residence halls or apartments at any time. Students are allowed in the residence hall lobbies of the opposite gender from noon until curfew. Regardless of gender, all visitors, repair persons, vendors, etc. must sign in at the front desk with the desk monitor or the resident manager before entering the living areas and must sign out at the front desk when leaving the living areas.
Each residence hall also incorporates the used of access control at the entrances to the building. Residents living in the building are granted access to the building using their Student ID card at the times the lobby is not being monitored.
Video Surveillance
There are several areas on campus that are monitored and/or recorded by video surveillance 24-hours a day by the Department of Public Safety. The video surveillance operates as a deterrent to crime in many areas of campus. Cameras are both overtly and covertly placed in strategic locations.
Security Patrols
Public Safety Officers patrol campus 24-hours a day, every day of the year to protect our students, employees and property here at Harding.
Equipment & Training
The Department of Public Safety utilizes patrol vehicles that are well-marked for easy identification and are equipped to handle a wide variety of situations. Each patrol vehicle contains a fully-equipped medical first responder bag, oxygen tank, and AED (Automatic External Defibrillator) for medical emergencies. Officers are trained and certified in CPR at the Healthcare Provider Level by the American Heart Association as well as trained medical first responders. Each vehicle also contains tools to assist motorist with services such as jump-starts, flat tires, and lockouts.
The department also has three gas powered golf carts at their disposal. The golf carts are used in a patrol capacity as well as for safety escorts performed by the department on the campus grounds.
All officers are equipped with two-way radios. Armed officers are trained in defensive tactics as well as Mace/Pepper Foam use and decontamination.
Contact Us
501-279-5000
Tip-line: 501-305-8237 or Tip-Form
Location: Kendall Hall
Area Numbers
Emergency: Dial 911
White County Medical Center: 501-268-6121
Searcy Police: 501-268-3531
White County Sheriff: 501-268-3543
Ark. State Police (Local): 501-279-6238