UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Aliana Steinbugl, director of physical security for Penn State University Police and Public Safety, has been named to Security Systems News’ 2022 “40 under 40” class. The group features a cohort comprised of a diverse and talented group of young professionals representing the next generation of leaders in security and consists of a mix of security systems integrators, security consultants, security dealers, and monitoring professionals, as well as end users and other industry professionals.

Steinbugl represents one of 15 women in the group and is the only one to hail from higher education.

“I speak on behalf of all of University Police and Public Safety when I say Aliana, serving as Penn State's premiere physical security subject-matter expert, has become a tremendous asset to the department as well as the University,” said Wesley Sheets, interim chief of police and public safety. “We are delighted to acknowledge Aliana’s contributions and congratulate her on this well-deserved honor.”

Steinbugl began her career with Penn State in 2009 as an administrative assistant for Housing Services, which evolved into an associate director position overseeing Housing and Food Services access and security for all campuses. She transitioned to University Police and Public Safety in April 2020. As the director for physical security at UPPS, she leads a team of nine staff members and is responsible for providing the strategic direction of the physical security office, which provides support to University Park and 22 campus locations. The department is tasked with the administration of headend security equipment and software and establishes and maintains security hardware life cycle management programs; handles policy and procedure authority and the audit process for access control, key management, video surveillance, and other life safety security devices; and manages Penn State’s overall electronic security program.

Since joining UPPS, Steinbugl has led, or participated in, a number of major projects for the University, including the centralization of physical security for the University, access control software mitigation, the access card credential implementation, mobile ID implementation, and electronic key box installations across the campuses. Additionally, she led the recent replacement of legacy network video recorders, which resulted in a savings of $3.5 million, and she led the charge to install approximately 14,500 Wi-Fi electronic locks across the University.

Steinbugl graduated with a bachelor of science degree in business with an emphasis on real estate from Penn State. She began her career in security while working in property management, through which she was involved with the video surveillance system for some of the downtown State College student apartments.

All members of the 2022 “40 under 40” class will be featured in an upcoming Security Systems News supplement that is scheduled to be published this summer.