Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Southwestern College Police Cut Ribbon on New Safety Building

  • 02/24/20

CHULA VISTA, CA – Southwestern College’s (SWC) police department recently celebrated the opening of its new facility with a ribbon-cutting recently on the Chula Vista, CA, campus.

The new College Police Building gives police and their staff a new lobby that can serve more students, a modernized dispatch center, expanded offices, storage space, community space, an evidence processing facility, locker rooms, a secure armory, secure parking and an emergency operations center.

Southwestern College Safety Building

“We want to commend Chief Davis Nighswonger and his team for overseeing the construction of this facility,” said SWC Superintendent/President Dr. Kindred Murillo. “This facility is reflective of the professionalism of our officers and police personal and helps us demonstrate their philosophy of openness and inclusion.”

The 7,077-gross-square-foot facility was built by Balfour Beatty and designed by Tucker Sadler Architects of San Diego. The new building cost $8.4 million and is part of Southwestern College’s Facilities Master Plan, funded by Propositions R and Z, that will reimagine the district’s campuses and upgrade its facilities to better serve students and the community.

The College Police department promotes the safety and security of every Southwestern College campus, including the Higher Education Centers in National City, Otay Mesa and San Ysidro. The department has 12 sworn police officers and 15 non-sworn personnel.

The police department provides a number of services to the campus community and students, including parking services, escort services around campus, victim services, lost and found, jump-starting students’ cars and more.

Chief Nighswonger is hoping the building becomes a community resource. He has reached out to the Chula Vista Police Department to offer the facility as an office space for officers patrolling the east portion of the city. The chief also is hoping to bring a drop-off box for unused prescription drugs to the facility.

About Southwestern College
Established in 1961, Southwestern College is one of 115 public community colleges in California and the only institute of higher education located in south San Diego County.

Featured

  • Campus Safety Requires Using Every Resource Available

    Across the U.S., school and campus leaders are facing a security landscape that has changed dramatically over the past decade. Incidents on school property have increased in recent years, with several consecutive years setting record totals. According to analysis of data by CNN, dozens of shootings now occur on school grounds annually across K-12 and higher education environments.

  • Secret to Efficient, On-Time School Infrastructure & Modernization Projects is All in the Preparation

    Warmer weather and longer days make summer the ideal time for construction and modernization projects at educational facilities. School boards and construction firms must coordinate effectively to ensure that these projects do not extend even a single day into the school year and impede classroom operation.

  • RIT Saunders College of Business – Lowenthal Hall Addition

    RIT Saunders College of Business – Lowenthal Hall Addition

    Established in 1999, the Education Design Showcase is a vehicle for showing off innovative — yet practical — solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction. RIT Saunders College of Business's Lowenthal Hall Addition has been recognized with an EDS 2026 Project of Distinction award in the category of New Construction.

  • Planning with Clarity: Using AI to Make Better Campus Decisions, Not Just Better Designs

    Higher education leaders are being asked to make increasingly high-stakes decisions about campus facilities amid greater uncertainty than ever before. Social and economic pressures, shifting enrollment, and evolving learning models compete with growing deferred maintenance needs to strain even the most robust infrastructure budgets.