For generations, Lake Forest College has offered students something rare. A historic liberal arts campus tucked within a quiet suburban community, just a short train ride from downtown Chicago. A place where intimate class sizes, tree-lined paths, and century-old buildings create a setting that feels both timeless and personal.

But today’s students expect more than beauty and tradition. They expect a campus experience that matches the world they live in: open, connected, modern, and safe.

Continuing to meet students’ high expectations has been a central priority for Lake Forest College, leading to a recent campus-wide initiative to modernize its physical security system and elevate the everyday experience of students, faculty, and staff.

“We want our students thinking about academics, their co-curriculars, and their relationships,” says Marisue Lacher, Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees. “Nothing is more important than the security of our students, faculty, and staff.” And while security has not been a particular issue for this campus, Lacher notes that leadership wants to stay ahead of technology modernizations because, as she puts it, “Families want to know that their child is safe when they’re off to college; this is their second home.”

Community-wide commitment to creating a safer, smarter campus
The decision to modernize campus security was not isolated to any single department. It became a coordinated effort across the entire College. Current Student Government President Liam Thumser credits Lake Forest College administration for collaborating with the student population to modernize and augment the campus’ security technologies. In fact, he notes that along with the Board and donors, the students felt so strongly about the importance of this initiative that they voted to fund a portion of this security modernization project with discretionary funds.

Siemens helps Lake Forest College modernize security infrastructure for the long-term
Lake Forest College and Siemens have partnered on campus infrastructure projects for more than 60 years, and this most recent modernization project drew on that shared commitment. For a campus with historic buildings, varied architecture, and a deeply rooted identity, this partnership mattered. Modern systems had to blend seamlessly into a setting that holds both history and future ambition.

With a comprehensive understanding of the College’s goals and insights from the Board, key stakeholders, and students themselves, the project scope of work encompassed the following:

• Replace and upgrade access control and video surveillance technologies to expand coverage across campus buildings and introduce new capabilities that allow public safety teams to respond more quickly and effectively.
• Access control upgrades provide better security, greater reliability, better building management, and new possibilities for after-hours academic access or study space use.
• Integration of high resolution camera technology improves situational awareness and incident response for campus security teams.

Lake Forest College is ready for the future
With its investment in modern security technologies and its long-standing partnership with Siemens, Lake Forest College has strengthened the core of what makes its campus thrive: safety, community, and the freedom for students to focus on becoming who they want to be while feeling safe at home.

In short, the College has honored its history while preparing for its future. Looking ahead, the College plans to expand the technology platform to include Building X® Security Manager, which will unify security data, provide greater transparency, and help ensure digital readiness going forward.

“We want to evolve as a digitally empowered liberal arts institution,” Agarwal says. “Technology enhances student experience, informs decision making, and strengthens our sense of community, and so we will continue to advance our analytics and cybersecurity capabilities. But most importantly, we want to keep technology human-centered and focused on our people.”

Located in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, Lake Forest College enhances the campus experience with state-of-the-art security