After working as UF's director of security for eight months, Joseph Souza was appointed the director of UF Business Affairs' newest department.
The Physical Security department was created to develop policies and procedures to keep the campus safe and secure, said Curtis Reynolds, vice president for UF Business Affairs. It oversees installation and maintenance of the campus access control security systems, surveillance systems and manual key systems.
The department will implement new security initiatives in the Fall semester, he said. Souza is responsible for policy development and the department workforce management.
A veteran of the U.S. Air Force, Souza has 28 years of experience in security and was assistant director of the security department at the University of Central Florida, Reynolds said.
Souza holds three professional certifications: Certified Protection Professional, Physical Security Professional from the American Society of Industrial Security International and Certified Business Continuity Planner from the Disaster Recovery Institute International.
“His career has been focused mostly around physical security, which includes technologies such as security cameras, access controls, alarms and panic buttons and monitoring, guard services and business resiliency,” Reynolds said.
Souza said the department will initially focus on growing and strengthening the team, creating policies and procedures and communicating those across campus.
“We will train all [consumers] the security systems and changes in policies as they are created,” he said. “This will get the university operating in a consistent manner with regard to physical security technology.”
The department will also standardize security in existing buildings and create standards for security in new buildings as they are constructed. Souza said they’ll focus on improving perimeter access controls and installing more cameras across campus.
The department’s purpose is to make campus safer for students, staff, faculty and people who visit it each day, Souza said. The physical security department will work with other departments and colleges to prioritize the security needs across campus.
“To be successful, we need to equip [consumers] and our UF police with the proper technology and training,” Souza said.
Souza
