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Texas State > Office of the Provost > AVP-Research and Federal Relations

Welcome

Billy C. Covington, Ph.D.
Associate Vice President for Research and Federal Relations

The primary commitment of the Office of the Associate Vice President for Research (AVPR) and Federal Relations is to support and promote the research and scholarship needs of the faculty and staff while promoting shared responsibility, compliance and scholarly integrity. Toward that end, the AVPR assists faculty members in their research endeavors, encourages interdisciplinary activities across campus and provides matching funds to support new programs and initiatives. In addition, this office provides administrative support for research activities through the Office of Proposal Development, the Office of Sponsored Programs, the Office of Technology Commercialization and the Office of Research Compliance. Six multidisciplinary centers and institutes also report to the AVPR.

*New* The University now subscribes to COS: Community of Science Database. Please visit the Office of Proposal Development COS page for details.

Spotlight on Research

ALERRT Training Saves Lives in Killeen

If it hadn’t been for an Army police officer trained by ALERRT (Advance Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training) at Texas State University-San Marcos, the situation in Killeen likely would have been worse.

Army police officer Kimberly Munley arrived at the scene of the shooting about seven minutes after it began. She was outside the Soldier Readiness Center building when the shooter emerged from the building, gun in hand. The shooter ran toward Munley, firing at her, and she returned fire.

Some of Munley’s training in how to respond to a mass shooting came from instructors at ALERRT. The program teaches police officers and first responders how to engage “active shooters,” gunmen whose only intention is to kill.

Commander Terry Nichols of the San Marcos Police Department, who is also an ALERRT instructor, said Munley was part of a group of U.S. Department of the Army police officers who were trained by ALERRT instructors in Killeen as well as in San Marcos.

“First responders have to be ready to engage the shooter; that’s what she did,” Nichols said of Munley. “She almost sacrificed her life to save others.”

ALERRT has trained about 20,000 officers in building entry techniques, rescue and survival strategies, as well as how to deal with explosive devices. Patrol officers are taught the kinds of tactics usually given only to SWAT and the military. Part of the training simulates what it’s like to be fired upon in combat — something many police officers never encounter until it’s actually happening.

The idea behind the training is to teach patrol officers how to take on such shooters or at least minimize the damage until SWAT teams arrive. The methods were developed by members of the Hays County Sheriff’s Department, who joined with Texas State in 2004 for research support.

ALERRT has a training facility near the San Marcos Municipal Airport. Officers take classes, fire weapons at a shooting range, practice breaching various types of doors, and train in a makeshift house, complete with old furniture and wall decorations. Tuition for the two-day, 16-hour basic course in San Marcos is free, thanks to grant money.

“The training we started in San Marcos was able to help this police officer stop violence; we’re very proud of that,” Nichols said. “First responders have to be ready to engage the shooter; that’s what she did,” Nichols said of Munley. “She almost sacrificed her life to save others.”