A proposal to build a new Law Enforcement Training Center on the Wichita State campus would mean a big boost to students in WSU's Criminal Justice program.

This week WSU announced a partnership with the City of Wichita and Sedgwick County for a potential plan to build a high-quality training facility on WSU’s Innovation Campus.

The building would provide training space and classrooms for the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Department, Wichita Police Department and the WSU Criminal Justice program, which includes the Regional Community Policing Institute and the Midwest Criminal Justice Institute.

It would allow classrooms for 500 criminal justice students, offices for 12 faculty and staff, and training space for officers and deputies.

Michael Birzer, director of WSU’s School of Community Affairs, says the new center would blend academic and real-world environments to meet the need for relevant, contemporary training.

“A university partnership with the center would help provide students with the skills they need to thrive in the academy and in their jobs,” Birzer says.

WSU President John Bardo says criminal justice students would get to interact with and learning from professionals in the field on a daily basis – the essence of the Innovation University concept.

“The opportunities for applied learning and student interaction with the law enforcement departments in the new center will be unparalleled,” Bardo says.

New option on the Innovation Campus

If approved, the three-story, 60,000-square-foot center would be located on the northeast corner of campus directly behind the Marcus Welcome Center and Woodman Alumni Center.

The first floor will include rooms for tactical training and fitness, 911 backup/training, crime scene incident and quartermaster’s rooms for the WPD and sheriff’s department. The second floor will primarily house classrooms for the WPD and sheriff’s department, and the third floor will include classrooms and offices for the WSU Criminal Justice program.

There is no final agreement among the parties, and any facility built on the university campus is subject to approval by the Kansas Board of Regents and other state entities. If constructed, it would become the second partnership building on campus, joining the Airbus Americas building now under construction.

The estimated cost of the building is $9.5 million, which will be funded by the City of Wichita and Sedgwick County. Innovation Campus infrastructure funding would cover the costs of providing parking for the building, and the university would pay maintenance fees for the building for the first five years at a cost of approximately $200,000 per year.