Wichita State, partners celebrate upcoming law enforcement training center

Wichita State University President John Bardo has signed off on plans for a new law enforcement training center on the Innovation Campus.

“We now can honor the people who take care of us every day by making sure that they are here on this campus,” Bardo said at a Tuesday news conference.

Last week, the county and the city agreed to sign a letter of intent to fund a center for police officers and sheriff’s deputies to train together at a new building on WSU’s Innovation Campus. Bardo signed that letter on Tuesday.

“It was something that the university felt like it was important and so therefore we just … tried to see if we could put these entities together,” said Nestor Weigand Jr. of MWCB LLC, which crafted the $9.5 million project.

Sheriff Jeff Easter and Police Chief Gordon Ramsay said the training center would help recruitment in both offices.

“Our new law enforcement training center will allow us to better collaborate to provide the best possible law enforcement in our community,” Wichita Mayor Jeff Longwell said.

Wichita police Sgt. Wendell Nicholson, who is earning his master’s degree at WSU, added that “this will also aid and encourage officers to pursue their education aspirations.”

This story was originally published May 24, 2016 at 5:35 PM with the headline "Wichita State, partners celebrate upcoming law enforcement training center."