West Liberty University is rated #1 in West Virginia for campus safety, according to campus safety rankings compiled by a popular college website, stateuniversity.com. 

The rankings were announced in late December.

“We are pleased to receive this ranking information. It’s important for parents to know that we work hard to ensure the safety of our students and our campus,” said President Robin C. Capehart. “Our campus police work daily to maintain a high level of safety awareness and inter-agency cooperation that results in a very safe environment for our employees and students.”

Officer J.R. Olejasz is shown in the police station, located in historic Shaw Hall.

West Liberty Campus Police are headed by Lt. Tom Hostutler, who credits the housing and residence life staff with doing a great job of identifying and reporting problem behavior. Unlike some campuses, West Liberty University employs armed police officers, empowered to arrest and uphold the law, not security officers.

“The safety of students and the entire campus community is everyone’s top priority at West Liberty,” Hostutler said, noting that in recent years, a concerted effort has been made to strengthen relationships with Town of West Liberty police, Sheriff Pat Butler and his deputies, Wheeling police, the state police and other law enforcement agencies.

All colleges and universities ranked were rated on a scale that accounts for severity of a crime as well as frequency of crime. Statistics were compiled from crime reports submitted by college/university law enforcement. Complete campus safety ranking for West Virginia is available on the stateuniversity website.