At first, Steffler thought he got himself in trouble because Sgt. David Angulo and a K-9 police dog were there next to him. But as he looked around the room, Steffler quickly realized that this seemed like a routine welcoming visit.

Steffler saw how excited people from different departments were as they came to pet Armor, Cal State San Marcos’ K-9 police dog for nearly seven years. He soon realized how much Armor meant to the campus. 

“I noticed that everyone in our office had treats for him,” said Steffler, an environmental health and occupational safety specialist on campus. “They had dog treats at their office because Armor would come to visit every single office.”

Talking to Angulo and getting to know Armor helped Steffler become at ease being around the K-9 and other dogs.   

“It was really special to see their bond and how they work together,” Steffler said. 

Armor is set to retire after this year’s commencement ceremonies, shortly before he turns 11 years old. Armor will continue living with Angulo after he retires, along with the next campus K-9, Hans. The CSUSM University Police Department is raising funds for the first-year expenses of acquiring Hans, as well as a K-9 vehicle and supplementary equipment and training. 

“Armor has been here longer than some staff members,” Angulo said. “It's going to be even harder for me to go to work without him. He's been my partner for the last seven years. It's amazing how attached we get to our partners. And it's very evident when I'm trying to go to work and he's trying to bust his way through and I have to tell him no. It’s heartbreaking. I knew it was going to be hard. I didn't realize it was going to be this hard. I think it's a little easier because I have Hans now who kind of fills that void. But as soon as I get home, it's evident that Armor is losing his head. He wants to go to work.”

Angulo and Armor have long been recognized as a strong duo on campus. If Angulo is spotted without Armor by his side, he is ready for people to ask where about the beloved K-9. He also is used to people ignoring him and going straight to pet Armor. But he doesn’t mind because Angulo loves when the campus community connects with Armor. 

“Armor would come in and we would just be rubbing his belly, and it provided us with a calmness,” said Jennie Ruiz, the associate dean of students. “Whenever he enters a space – and I've seen it with students, too – people just kind of light up around him because he's so sweet, so friendly. And he'll just kind of let you snuggle up with him. He definitely provided us with some sweet comfort when he would come into the office.”

Armor’s contributions have extended well beyond campus. Armor is able to detect 20 explosive odors and he is the only explosive detection canine in North County and one of seven in the 23-campus California State University system. 

Angulo and Armor have attended the Golden Globe Awards together as well as presidential debates, political conventions and professional sporting events, including Major League Baseball and NFL games. They also regularly contribute to K-9 responses throughout San Diego County.

It has been an amazing journey for Angulo and Armor since their partnership began in 2015. 

Angulo learned about an opening for a K-9 officer early in his career at CSUSM, and he was eager to pursue the opportunity. Angulo trained with the nearest K-9 unit in Northridge on his days off for six months to gain experience for the position. He was able to gather a better understanding of a K-9’s behavior and the training process while shadowing the K-9 officers. 

Angulo was then matched up with Armor after completing the interview process. 

“This opportunity showed itself really early in my career,” Anuglo said. “I was extremely lucky, and it usually doesn’t happen that way. I kind of just ran with it and made sure I did everything I could to make sure that the program continued to succeed.”

Now, almost 10 years later, Angulo encourages his colleagues who are interested in being K-9 officers to join him while he is working with Hans. 

“Armor is a part of my family,” Angulo said. ”Hans will be just as part of my family. And I couldn't trust anyone else to be at home with my wife and kids. They'll be well taken care of. I'm very lucky.”

Media Contact

Eric Breier, Public Affairs Specialist

ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314

Two suspects broke into the Arts Building and University Hall in the early-morning hours of March 22, stealing about $20,000 in equipment and electronics.

Adrian Acevedo, Paula Ibarra De Vargas and Brandon Valdes, who are part of CSUSM’s third-shift custodial team that works from 9 p.m.-5:30 a.m., reported suspicious activity near the Arts Building to the University Police Department.

CSUSM police arrested one suspect after a short foot pursuit, and several of the stolen items were seen for sale on a social media website the next day. CSUSM detectives and officers, assisted by deputies from the San Diego Sheriff’s Department, served a search warrant at the home of the seller and recovered about $6,500 worth of stolen property. The primary suspect recently pleaded guilty to the burglary.

“Our third-shift custodial staff really did a tremendous job,” said Lamine Secka, CSUSM’s police chief. “Because of their actions, we were able to not only arrest some serious criminal offenders but recover thousands of dollars of university property. We were very pleased to acknowledge their willingness to get involved with citizen commendations.

“This is another great example of campus safety being a shared, community responsibility. As much as we’d like to be, the police department can’t be everywhere at the same time, and we really do rely on our community members to let us know when something looks out of place.”

Secka said the incident was also an important reminder both to secure valuable property and to report suspicious behavior.

“We really want to encourage our campus community that if you ‘see something, say something,’ ” he said. “It’s important not to assume that someone else is going to call the police. This is a good example of that philosophy.”

Media Contact

Eric Breier, Public Affairs Specialist

ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314

New, unwrapped toys can be brought to the lobby of UPD, which is at 425 La Moree Road. No donation is seen as too small and all gifts make a difference. Camp Pendleton Marines will be picking up the donations on Dec. 16.

Coordinated by Sgt. Herman Hernandez, this is the second straight year that UPD has been a designated drop-off site for Toys for Tots.

To make an online donation, visit the Marine Corps Toys for Tots website. 

Media Contact

Eric Breier, Public Affairs Specialist

ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314

Chun was brought into the fold as coronavirus activity globally was increasing and it was apparent that it was only a matter of time before the U.S. was affected.

“I was very impressed as to how members of the CSUSM EOC team, along with key leaders in the campus community, worked so well collaboratively to create processes where the university could make the transition from in-class to virtual instruction run as smoothly as possible, while ensuring the health and safety of the students, faculty and staff,” said Chun, who was part of operations similar to CSUSM’s EOC during his career in Navy Medicine.

Modeled to be compliant with the Standardized Emergency Management System (state) and National Incident Management System (federal), the focus of the EOC team is to support faculty, staff and students to ensure that they are safe in the event of a wide range of emergencies, ranging from earthquakes to structure or wildfires to severe weather and even pandemics.

The EOC has a space designated in the University Police Department building where assigned emergency management personnel can report during an incident. Since mid-March, the EOC team has held virtual meetings to comply with social distancing and stay-at-home measures.

Chief of Police Lamine Secka serves as director of the EOC and is responsible for overall management of disaster response, while Robert Williams is CSUSM’s emergency manager and oversees university-wide emergency preparedness programs and initiatives.

The EOC can be activated for numerous reasons and has three levels of activation:

1. Monitoring, which covers a minor to moderate incident in which local resources are adequate and available.
2. Partial Activation, which covers a moderate to severe emergency/disaster where local resources are not adequate and mutual aid may be required on a regional or statewide basis.
3. Full Activation, which is a major local or regional disaster wherein resources in or near the impacted area are overwhelmed and extensive state and/or federal resources are required.

The EOC is currently activated at level 3.

For most emergencies, the EOC is structured in teams that oversee logistics, operations, planning and intelligence, and finance and administration (an EOC organizational chart is available at this link). Each team is charged with gathering information and recommending a plan of action.

The nature of the emergency determines which team in the EOC takes the lead. In the case of the COVID-19 pandemic, Integrated Risk Management and Safety, Health and Sustainability have been at the forefront of efforts along with Chun.

“The whole idea behind the EOC structure is that it is flexible,” Secka said. “We can activate the entire EOC if needed, or just smaller portions of it, depending on the nature of emergency.”

However, unlike most emergencies in the past, COVID-19 has presented a unique challenge given the global impact and extended timeline. This has meant that the EOC team has needed to be agile in dealing with long-term implications and ever-evolving information. For example, new team members with specific expertise from Academic Affairs and Student Affairs were added to help develop classroom and laboratory safety protocols, plans for providing limited in-person instruction this fall, plans for housing that included reduced resident density, and much more.

This work requires ongoing coordination with the county and the CSU Office of the Chancellor to support faculty, staff and student needs. Thanks to their hard work and efforts, CSUSM was one of the first campuses in the system to have its fall plan approved by the CSU.

This summer, their work will continue as they monitor available COVID-19 data, implement health and safety protocols and ensure that the campus is ready to welcome back a limited number of students, faculty and staff to support select in-person learning and research opportunities.

"The EOC team is comprised of talented professionals who strive to ensure concerns of the university are addressed as a whole, while also paying attention to emerging issues and creating plans to address those as well,” said Katy Rees, associate vice president of administration for Finance & Administrative Services who is in charge of the EOC planning group. “Ensuring safety, business continuity and providing an important support structure with care is paramount in everything we do.”

Media Contact

Eric Breier, Public Affairs Specialist

ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314

At Cal State San Marcos, they don’t need to.

The campus’ Business Continuity Program ensures critical business functions will operate during and after an emergency or disaster. And very soon, a new software program called Kuali Ready will be rolled out to even further advance CSUSM’s efforts to respond when disruptive situations occur.

“Any event that results in a disruption of business can affect the university’s ability to provide services,” said Robert Williams, who is CSUSM’s emergency and business recovery manager. “Continuity gives you a strategy on how to lessen those disruptions and get the campus back up and running as quickly as possible.”

The largely behind-the-scenes effort has been around for eight years at CSUSM. With more cyberattacks, planned and unplanned power outages, and the constant threat of devastating fires, regional businesses have identified an increased need for continuity during disasters.

What began on campus as an Excel spreadsheet that simply identified needs during and after a disaster has blossomed into an intricate system of communication and technology across all departments.

One of the people spearheading the rollout of the new software program is a familiar face around campus, Class of 2018 alumnus and former ASI President Louis Adamsel.

“We saw an opportunity to bring in a person with maturity, drive and a willingness to learn,” Williams said. “He has not disappointed. He’s still learning on a daily basis, but he has taken the lead on our Business Continuity efforts and is making great strides.”

While an undergraduate student at CSUSM, Adamsel majored in communication while working on campus, volunteering with several organizations and serving as a National Guard reservist. He was also instrumental in bringing historically black fraternity Omega Psi Phi to campus.

He uses all of that experience gained at CSUSM in his new role as Business Continuity Coordinator.

“My experience in leadership has allowed me to realize it is important to meet departments where they are and steadily work from there,” said Adamsel, who is also currently a graduate student in the Homeland Security program at San Diego State. “If I can research as much information about the departments before a meeting, our meetings are able to go smoothly. And even if we start from nothing, just the excitement of working through Business Continuity is enough. Many department members appreciate the initiative to figure out their own critical functions and have a better understanding of their role in an emergency situation.”

Adamsel’s day-to-day focus is on communicating with division and department leaders about the benefits of working together to identify critical tasks and functions that must be carried out and the time frame in which to do that. He also identifies the location, resources and IT needs of each department so they can be utilized in the case of an emergency.

When he’s not focused on business continuity efforts, he also conducts panic alarm testing, safety presentations and helps ensure the university remains in compliance with executive orders.

The new program will soon be steadily rolled out with information sessions through division and department leadership. BCP is set to begin the information process and help departments finish plans for their respective areas if departments wish to reach out now.

One of the main benefits of Kuali Ready is it allows for more information to be recorded from each department as well as stores key departmental documents that can be accessed on computer, tablet or mobile devices.

“This new software program will allow the Emergency Operations Center to quickly identify specific departmental needs that may be affected during an incident,” Adamsel said. “Inside every continuity plan is a contact list for departments, and the critical functions serve as guidelines for the department in the case of recovery. So in the case of campus recovery, most departments will see where they stand and know exact timelines on how they will be assisted by the university if they have a task that cannot be carried out inside the department.”

The BCP has made significant strides since it rolled out a program on paper just eight years ago. Combining the advancements in technology with some key minds who are dedicated to making CSUM as disaster prepared as possible has clearly been the right approach.

“Louis has been invaluable to me and the program,” Williams said. “Business Continuity is a full-time job – especially when moving from paper plans to automated system – and prior to Louis, too much work for one person. He jumped right in absorbing as much information as quickly as possible, picked up the Kuali software quickly, and is constantly researching and asking questions to improve the campus program and move it forward. At some point, he will literally work with just about every department on campus.”

Media Contact

Eric Breier, Public Affairs Specialist

ebreier@csusm.edu | Office: 760-750-7314