Security authorities at Delaware State University announced the contract with Honeywell for the company's Instant Alert Plus emergency notification technology. Officials say the alert system implementation will enable communication between students, faculty and staff in the event of an emergency.

Honeywell officials say their Instant Alert Plus technology sends out messages to any personal communication device or through e-mail with pertinent information about an emergency incident. With the announcement, Delaware State University follows a growing number of academic campuses installing alert systems in the wake of the shootings at Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois University.

"Instant Alert Plus will help us get important information to more people in less time," said James Overton, Delaware State University chief of police.

"We never want to go through that type of event again, but if a major emergency arises, we are prepared and have the ability to get the word out quickly."