Brian Bartelt has a great deal of responsibility. That’s what comes with the job of leading the department tasked with keeping the Viterbo community as safe as possible.

As director of campus safety and security, Bartelt’s time is divided between being a safety officer and responding to calls for service, emergency preparedness, developing training opportunities, and supervising his staff of 15 on-call, part-time, and full-time officers.

“We want to be as ready as possible for any big situations that can happen,” said Bartelt, who earned an associate degree from Bethany Lutheran College and a bachelor’s degree in law enforcement from Minnesota State University, Mankato.

Bartelt rose quickly at Viterbo after being hired as a part-time safety officer in December 2020. He was promoted to assistant director in July 2021 and to director in June 2022.

“Viterbo has always been a shining spot in the community,” said Bartelt, who enjoys the outdoors, hunting, fishing, and painting. “Campus is beautiful, and I remember going to Christmas concerts here as a kid. The work is rewarding and fits very well with my education.”

“I make sure our staff members understand that customer service is a big part of the job,” he said. “We’re here to help people and make things better. We’ve built a great team here. Big emergencies don’t happen every day, but on those busy nights when there are issues, the staff has really stepped up and taken care of the problems and kept campus safe.”

Bartelt plans to make sure his safety officers receive the resources and education needed to continue to do their jobs well and to grow in their profession.

“Our officers receive monthly trainings on important topics such as first aid and CPR, dealing with a mental health crisis, and drug identification,” Bartelt said. “That’s going to continue. It keeps our officers sharp and helps them be better in their current position or the next phase of their career."