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Named one of the most “wired” campuses in the nation, AmericanUniversity has a history of g round breaking campus wide technology.So when they decided to upgrade their analog security system to IP,

they had to look no further than Pelco and Endura.

Cut ting-Edge Technology American University was the rst campus to implement an advanced wireless broadband network in 2004. Later, in 2005 the Kogod Schoolof Business became the rst business school to integrate RSS dataservices with smar t phones given to all graduate business students.Combined with RSS services, the university provides optional audioand video podcasts of on-demand educational experiences, such aslectures, to all students.

Like their g round breaking student oriented technology, the American University Depar tment of Public Safety seeks to bringsecurity to their campus faster through wireless Pelco technology.

Starting in the 1980s the American University Department of PublicSafety began installing security measures from analog cameras toaccess control systems on campus. But when Chief of Police MichaelMcNair joined the department in 2003, he sought to update andupgrade the current system with help from Integrated SecurityTechnologies (IST), a Virginia-based system integrator, withPelco IP products.

American University had difculties before with projec t continuity, as the universityprocurement process brought on many

different integrators. “You have to havea good installer and integrator, and youhave to do your homework,” says McNair.

When it came time to do thei r homework,IST and American University studied theavailable technology and agreed upon usingthe Pelco Endura system for the upgrade.“They are excited about transitioning theiranalog technology completely to the PelcoEndura IP Platform,” says Michael S. Ruddo,IST Vice President of Business Development.“Currently they are running a hybrid systemand I have worked with the Chief to lay out afour-to-ve- year plan to migrate everything

“I think that the Pelco Endura systemreally makes policing on a collegecampus considerably easier.”

- Chief of Police Michael McNair

On The Forefront of Education and Security

BY KATE WOODWARD, CONTRIBUTING WRITER

A m e r i c a nU n i v e r s i t y

| Pelco Press Spring 2009

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to Endura. All new video requirements arespecied as Endura. They see great benetin the new technology.”

The installation upgrade increases v ideocoverage of the 76-acre campus. Thesystem covers a variety of areas, includingparking lots, the main quad area, entrypoints to the campus pedestrian and vehicle entry to non-dorm buildings andsome interior locations where sensitiveexperimentation takes place or high-valueitems are utilized and stored. Camerashave also been added to their existingEmergency Phone Towers to providebetter coverage of the campus.

Combining The OldWith The NewMost of the hybrid security systemis centrally monitored in the campusPublic Safety Facility. Endura MDDunits are utilized to integrate theexisting keyboard to both the MatrixSwitch and the Endura hardware so

that all cameras can be displayed and controlled from theexisting controller.

“This is going to be huge,” McNair says of the video analyticssystem. “With the dedicated Endura security network, when atheft is reported, all of the supervisors can go in and look at allof the footage that is available.”

Amer ican University’s analog technology consists of a Pelco 9760Matrix Switch with some xed cameras and a mix of Spectra II, IIIand IV PTZ Cameras. Most of the analog cameras transmit to thecommand center via PelcoNet IP encoders to decoders.

The IP side of the current system includes Spectra IV cameras tiedto Endura NET5300 Encoders and Endura RAID 6TB NVR units.The Endura System head end consists of two System Managers anda WS5050 Workstation.

Besides campus surveillance, the security system has had otherbenets as well. Recorded video has been used to both apprehendthieves and to disprove falsely accused crimes. One such incidentincluded quickly apprehending a vandal who was seen drawinglewd grafti in a campus elevator. “I think that the Pelco Endurasystem really makes policing on a college campus considerablyeasier,” says Chief McNair.

About American UniversityNestled in the upper Northwest of Washington, D.C., American University has been educating the nation’s youngpeople on its cosmopolitan, multicultural campus since 1893. Recognized by the Princeton Review as one of“America’s Best Value College;” American University is considered a top university, actively promoting internationalunderstanding, reected in its curricula offerings, faculty research, and the regular presence of world leaders oncampus. Eleven U.S. presidents, including President Barack Obama and former Presidents Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter,have visited American University.

Pelco Press Spring 20