FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
INDIANAPOLIS — Bryant Lucas has been appointed captain of the IU Police Department at Indiana University-Purdue University Columbus.
Lucas, who began his new role Feb. 2, is responsible for executive and expert leadership over public safety functions at IUPUC, which primarily serves students who live in Bartholomew, Brown, Decatur, Jackson, Jefferson, Jennings, Johnson, Ripley, Shelby and other counties in Southern Indiana.
As captain, Lucas will establish and maintain public safety plans and operations in compliance with university, state and federal requirements; oversee the development and implementation of full- and part-time employees, crime prevention programs, environmental health and safety, risk management, fire safety and parking enforcement; and chair IUPUC’s emergency preparedness team as well as serve as a member of the University Emergency Preparedness Committee.
“We are pleased Captain Bryant Lucas has joined IUPUC,” said IUPUC Vice Chancellor and Dean Marwan A. Wafa. “Campus security has always been a high priority, and his background and experiences will serve us well as the campus, which shares grounds with Ivy Tech Community College and the Purdue College of Technology, prepares to launch a comprehensive campus security plan.”
Lucas will also be responsible for managing the relationships, contracts and memorandums of understanding between other entities for the provision of police and other safety services around IUPUC including the Columbus Police Department, Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Office and the Indiana State Police.
“Bryant has positioned himself well throughout his education and professional career to serve as the police captain for IUPUC,” said IU Police Department Indianapolis Chief Robert True. “His in-depth public safety knowledge, experience with department development and his leadership and team management abilities will help cultivate a safety-conscious campus culture.”
A sworn law enforcement officer, Lucas started his career as a conservation officer with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources in 1987. In that role he enforced federal and state laws, with special concentration on environmental and wildlife protection. In 2012, he assumed the role of communications commander with the DNR and oversaw the development and operation of the agency’s first centralized, statewide, 24-hour law enforcement dispatch and emergency communications center.
From 2006 to 2012, Lucas also served as the assistant executive director for the Indiana Intelligence Fusion Center, a division of the Indiana Department of Homeland Security charged with collecting, integrating, evaluating, analyzing and disseminating information and intelligence regarding criminal and terrorist activity.
“I am honored to have been selected to this position,” Lucas said. “I look forward to working with IUPUC community and our public safety partners to ensure the campus remains a safe and desirable location in which our faculty, staff and students can excel and thrive in their academic endeavors.”
Lucas holds a master’s degree in security studies from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif., and a bachelor’s degree with distinction in public affairs management from IU Bloomington. He is also a graduate of the 91st class of the Indiana Law Enforcement Agency as well as the 229th Session of the Federal Bureau of Investigation National Academy in Quantico, Va.