The University of Tennessee at Martin installed 284 new security cameras in preparation for the 2026-2027 school year, part of a larger effort to update campus security measures.
The new cameras are part of a state-funded security grant totaling $938,000 dedicated to funding campus security upgrades, including updating security cameras, new electronic access control hardware, replacing physical hardware such as door locks and improving lighting across campus. Approximately $100,000 of the grant was set aside for improving security cameras.
One of the biggest features of the new security cameras is their ability to record in multiple directions at once, allowing public safety officials the ability to record in multiple directions at the same time. This “fisheye” perspective provides broader coverage of an area with fewer blind spots. The new cameras also have a much higher resolution, allowing for a clearer picture compared to older cameras used prior to the update.
According to Michael O’Neill, director for the Department of Public Safety at UT Martin, the installation process is a combination of adding cameras to areas that were previously without coverage and updating older cameras in existing locations. In some cases, one new camera was able to take the place of multiple older cameras due to its advanced technology. When the current installation is complete, UT Martin will have approximately 850 security cameras across campus.
Chad Brewer, system administrator at UT Martin, is one of the people responsible for the installation of the new cameras. Brewer said that through rounds of installations over the past few years, almost all cameras across campus have been updated.
“As we get grants, we look at our system as a whole and say, ‘hey, what needs to be upgraded?’” said Brewer. “So last year we had a lot of old analog cameras that were 10, 12 years old, and we got them out and replaced them with newer cameras. So this year, with the grant that we got, we looked at what are, again, the oldest cameras, and these that we’re replacing were the oldest of what we had in our system.”
Buildings and areas with updated cameras include the Ned McWherter Agricultural Complex, the Animal Diagnostics Laboratory, Brehm Hall, Clement Hall, the Kathleen & Tom Elam Center, the Johnson EPS Building, Skyhawk Fieldhouse, the Fine Arts Building, Gooch Hall, the Plant Science Research Center, the Heating Plant, the Student Recreation Center, the Boling University Center, the Holland McCombs Center, the Power Generation Facility, the Physical Plant Warehouse, Hardy M. Graham Stadium, the Paul Meek Library, Crisp Hall, University Village, Cooper Hall, multiple parking lots and others.
O’Neill also noted that the Paul Meek Library and the Office of Residence Life and Housing upgraded cameras out of their own budgets along with the grant funding.
Public Safety uses security cameras to review reports of theft, property damage and suspicious activity. Cameras are a critical tool for conducting investigations, helping to identify things such as timelines and directions of travel. Some of the newest cameras are also equipped with an AI chip that officers can use to identify vehicles, license plates and more.
With the addition of updated cameras on campus, O’Neill emphasized that the cameras are only used based on the Office of Public Safety’s need.
“I don’t want people to have a impression that cameras are used to watch students or people all the time,” said O’Neill. “In fact, we have some very strict requirements on who has access to the camera systems. We audit twice a year the people that have access, and if they don’t continue to have a legitimate need, we remove it. Mostly it’s public safety. Intentionally, it’s very highly regulated and limited so that people can’t just pull up the cameras… it’s limited to public safety need.”
O’Neill also noted that having reliable security cameras is only one part of a larger security system in place to protect the campus.
“The cameras are just one tool in an overall larger safety system,” said O’Neill. “We have to have visible police officers. We have to have good lighting on campus. We have to have secure buildings, which is why money went towards the door locks and the electronic access.”
On a connected campus like UT Martin, people reaching out and reporting concerns is one of the biggest assets for O’Neill and his crew.
“You have to have a campus that cares and reports concerns because if we don’t know about it, we can’t do anything about it; we can’t investigate crimes that happened or prevent crimes in the future,” said O’Neill. “This campus is great as far as that goes. And people do care around here, and that’s what brought me here and what’s kept me here. But we have to have that. We have to have people that report concerns to us so that we can do something about it.”
