Aug 17, 2013 09:34 AM EDT By Russell Westerholm, UniversityHerald Reporter

The University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) announced a purchase of 200 bulletproof whiteboards from Hardwire LLC, according to a news release.

The purchase was funded by a private-sector investment from 2004 made by UMES. The new whiteboards will provide added safety to classrooms to protect against the unthinkable.

"Classroom safety is not a pleasant topic," UMES President Juliette B. Bell said. "Unfortunately, campus violence is a reality that we have to be prepared for, and this technology allows us to be proactive rather than reactive."

Hardwire founder George Tunis said UMES is the first university to buy these whiteboards.

WATCH to see how they work.

"It's 'back-to-school' season, and as a result of its leadership, UMES will be one of the safest campuses in the country as students return to school," Tunis said.

With classes starting Aug. 26, UMES adds bulletproof whiteboards to an already disaster-prepped campus. In addition to email and text alerts, students can spot instant notifications on monitors stationed around campus.

"As a professionally trained police officer for some three decades, I'm always encouraged when I see new technology that helps keep people safe," Leatherbury said. "This is so accessible. And it's not cumbersome."

Each whiteboard is 18-inch by 20-inch, weighs less than four pounds and can be transported around easily. Tunis told the Baltimore Sun the idea came from other school shootings.

"When Sandy Hook happened ... a light bulb went off that it's really the teachers and administrators" who need protection, the father of two said. "Those brave souls were trying to close the gap and get to the shooter and stop him, but they didn't have anything that could stop the bullets along the way."

UMES has never had an "active shooter" on campus, but other schools in Maryland have and, as such tragic incidents have proved in the past, no town is completely safe all the time.

"Being able to respond accordingly is very important," Bell said, pointing to the Virginia Tech shootings. "It's all about being prepared."

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