Five University Police Department supervisors and four officers at West Texas A&M University were officially promoted Sept. 1.

“This can be a thankless job, but that’s what today was for — to get these officers the recognition they deserve,” UPD Chief Shawn Burns said.

The promotions were recognized in a small Sept. 1 ceremony at the University Police Department.

“I am excited to see our police officers continue to promote up the ranks,” said Randy Rikel, vice president for business and finance. “We have the best University Police Department in Texas. They are trusted by the WT family and care deeply for every person that sets foot on this campus. I am very proud of Chief Burns and their team as they truly protect and serve West Texas A&M University.”

Earlier this year, WT was named the safest campus in Texas and in the Top 10 across the country. The UPD also was named a Recognized Law Enforcement Agency from the Texas Police Chiefs Association Foundation (TPCAF) Law Enforcement Recognition Program.

Promoted supervisors include Lts. Barbara Ferrara and Zachary Nethery, both of whom previously were sergeants, and Sgts. Kyle Hawbaker, Brandon Johnson and Aaron Price, who previously were corporals.

Ferrara, who is completing her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice at WT, is a 10-year UPD veteran who supervises the Criminal Investigations Division. Nethery, a U.S. Army veteran who earned his bachelor’s in criminal justice at WT, is a 14-year UPD veteran who supervises the Patrol Division.

Hawbaker, a 17-year UPD veteran, supervises police operations at Harrington Academic Hall WTAMU Amarillo Center. Johnson, who has worked in the UPD for more than eight years, tracks racial profiling statistics and is responsible for the department’s National Incident-Based Reporting System. Price, who has worked in the UPD for more than seven years and is working on his bachelor’s in criminal justice at WT, maintains the department’s weapons and trains WT and other agencies and schools in active shooter preparedness. Johnson and Price both supervise patrol officers on their respective shifts.

Officers Justin McBride, Brent Fenwick, Tyler Findley and Tyler Burch also received grade promotions during the ceremony.

Campus safety reflects WT’s principle of putting people first, an important precept in the University’s generational plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.

-West Texas A&M University