Responsibilities of the Position
Reporting to the chief administrative officer within the division of finance and administration, the chief of police is responsible for planning, organizing, implementing, and directing the law enforcement and public safety functions of the University of South Alabama (USA), including USA Health. This position serves as the chief law enforcement officer of the university responsible for protecting life and property, enforcing all state and local laws and university regulations, preventing crime, and preserving order. The chief recommends public safety policy for the university, including University Hospital, the Mitchell Cancer Institute, the Children’s & Women’s Hospital, a freestanding emergency department, and numerous clinics.
The chief of police is expected to be a visible campus leader having frequent contact with students, parents, faculty, staff, administrators, and the general public, as well as with members of the university board of trustees, civic and community leaders, directors and managers of government operations, and corporate and business executives. Further, this chief will build strong partnerships with local, state, and federal law enforcement and public safety agency directors and managers.
The chief oversees a dedicated department of 18 sworn police officers, a full-time support staff of seven civilian employees, and a $2.5 million annual budget.
Essential functions:
- Plans, organizes, and directs the operations, activities, programs, and functions of the USA police department and parking services and consistently promotes its mission.
- Provides for the delivery of police and public safety services to the university community designed to promote a safe and secure environment for all constituents.
- Serves as the chief law enforcement officer of the university responsible for protecting life and property, preserving the peace, maintaining order, and directing the enforcement of all federal, state, and local laws within the jurisdiction of the university, and the enforcement of state and university traffic laws and university regulations.
- Serves as a key participant in the emergency management plan and coordinates with the director of safety and environmental compliance to provide guidance and direction in emergency preparedness planning and implementation.
- Recommends and implements policy established by the university regarding public safety, law enforcement, traffic and parking, and emergency preparedness.
- Ensures departmental compliance and maintains a sufficient level of knowledge of federal, state, and local laws, case law, and regulations relating to law enforcement and criminal justice methods and practices, including rules of criminal procedure, laws governing search and seizure, and rules of evidence.
- Leads and manages all aspects of compliance with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act and all associated regulations.
- Leads and manages all aspects of the departmental accreditation process.
- Establishes a vision and clearly defines the department’s mission and goals based on current needs and future expectations.
- Recognizes and adapts the department to internal and external forces for change.
- Formulates and updates the ongoing overall strategies of the department on an as needed basis.
- Establishes goals for implementing department values, philosophies, and principles that improve quality of life in the community and the workplace.
- Assures a structure and systems that address department and community needs.
- Defines management objectives, responsibilities, authority, and measures of performance while utilizing feedback to enhance results.
- Establishes mechanisms that recruit the most competent personnel to join the department team; increases the competence of all employees; develops and promotes personnel to higher levels of responsibility; and recognizes employee and team contributions to the department’s success.
- Holds employees accountable to standards of conduct and performance that have foundations in sustained professional excellence regardless of adverse internal or external conditions.
- Provides the most effective and efficient utilization of the department’s human, fiscal, and property resources.
- Formulates the annual departmental budget with the chief administrative officer and has authority over all budget expenditures.
- Approves the procurement of property and services and assigns responsibility for property maintenance.
- Manages video systems and electronic access controls across campus to ensure equipment functions properly and is appropriately developed and maintained.
- Promotes public cooperation and goodwill.
- Directs the preparation of internal reports to outside agencies in conformance with federal and state laws, university regulations, or departmental policy.
- Coordinates the activities of the department with other agencies concerned with law enforcement, criminal justice, and public safety.
- Attends and actively participates in county, area, state, and national professional associations and criminal justice conferences and meetings.
- Performs other related management duties as assigned by higher authority.
- Demonstrates knowledge and practice of contemporary community-oriented policing initiatives.
- Utilizes modern and non-traditional police leadership methods that encourage problem-solving and decision-making rather than traditional authority and control methods when appropriate
- Reacts to emergency law enforcement situations using the best effort but least force needed to restore peace and order.
- Possesses considerable skill in the use of law enforcement equipment including, but not limited to, communications equipment and department-approved firearms.
Qualifications and Characteristics
The successful candidate will hold a bachelor’s degree in a related field from an accredited institution and a minimum of five years of progressively responsible experience at a command level within a law enforcement agency, preferably on a college or university campus. In addition, the new chief must have a valid driver’s license and maintenance of a driving record sufficient to maintain insurance coverage under the University of South Alabama and meet the minimum standards set by the state of Alabama for police officers. Prior to employment, the successful candidate must satisfactorily complete drug/alcohol and psychological screenings. A master’s degree in a law enforcement-related field is preferred.
In addition, stakeholders at USA identified the following characteristics and attributes when considering the position of the chief (in no particular order):
- Possess experience creating a unified vision, mission, and strategic plan to move a department in a positive direction.
- Exhibit a genuine passion for the university and/or healthcare environment with an ability to build strong rapport and working relationships with students, faculty, and staff.
- Embrace an educational philosophy for the entire department, ensuring officers understand their role as educators within the campus community.
- Able to invest the time to know the staff and advocate on their behalf to ensure their needs and concerns are heard and adequately addressed.
- Have demonstrated experience directing and managing large, complex events, including D1 football games.
- Project a genuine willingness to work with and for students by actively engaging students in community policing practices and continual open communications.
- Hold an understanding and appreciation for a service-oriented environment and an ability to fully comprehend the department’s integral role within the campus community.
- Possess a record of demonstrated complex change management experience and capable of initiating and managing change while ensuring all stakeholders are appropriately included in conversations and decisions.
- Be an authentic communicator who consistently works to understand the students and campus community stakeholders’ varied interests, needs, and concerns and how these relate to the work of the police department.
- Able to build a strong, empowered team with positive morale throughout the department while being deeply committed to staff members’ professional development and training.
- Demonstrate expertise in related compliance requirements and best practices, including the Clery Act, mental health concerns, and bias incidents.
- Be culturally competent, with a genuine appreciation for diversity, equity, and inclusion, with demonstrated experience effectively working with and positively engaging a diverse student population.
- Advance the department as a transformative, innovative, and collaborative leader ready to try new ideas, approaches, and technologies.
- Effectively foster strong partnerships with local and regional law enforcement and first responder agencies.
- Maintain high visibility and engagement throughout the campus and surrounding community.
- Be a strong supervisor capable of challenging and appreciating individuals while effectively working to professionalize the department and hold all staff accountable.
- Possess an in-depth understanding of applicable laws, risk management, crisis response, safety and security procedures, policies, and protocols necessary to inform an immediate response to situations.
- Possess a genuinely inclusive leadership style that is confident, approachable, motivational, and transparent.
- Be a true team player with high professional ethics and personal integrity.
History of the Position
The previous chief served the institution for approximately ten years before departing in summer 2022. An interim chief was named while the institution revised the reporting structure for the police department and prepared to launch a national search. Now reporting to the finance and administration division, the USA police department is poised to excel and provide exemplary service to the USA community.
Opportunities of the Role
In transitioning to USA, the chief will encounter the following opportunities and challenges, as shared by key USA stakeholders:
- The chief will find a supportive administration committed to the department’s continued success.
- As USA Health expands, the chief will need to work with the growing demands for service.
- The new chief must invest in a robust training program going well beyond what is required, focusing on the specific needs and issues of the USA community.
- While the police department is in the process of hiring more officers, the chief will need to continue efforts to recruit and retain talented officers.
- This is an exceptional opportunity to rebuild and shape a campus police department.
- The new chief can create programs and initiatives to educate the campus community about the department and promote a better understanding of their role in campus safety.
- The new chief has an incredible opportunity to positively contribute to the students’ lives and the entire campus community.
Measures of Success
At an appropriate interval after joining USA, the following items will initially define success for the new chief.
- The department is fully staffed and operates with high professionalism, accountability, transparency, and competence, while maintaining an ethos of compassion and empathy.
- The morale within the department is strong, and staff members feel mutually supported and appreciated by the chief as well as the campus community.
- The chief has clearly outlined and articulated the department’s vision, goals, and expectations.
- The police department is fully integrated into the USA Health and campus community in the most positive way, and the students, administration, and campus community have confidence in the department’s abilities.
- The chief has identified relevant benchmarks based on national best practices and implemented appropriate assessment strategies.
- The chief is moving the department forward with innovative programs and initiatives.
- The chief has gained the trust of the department and the USA community by being involved, visible, transparent, and engaged in all aspects of campus life.
- The chief has formed meaningful working relationships with local and regional law enforcement agencies, first responders, community associations, and partners.
- Through consistent, confident leadership, the chief is readily regarded as an active partner in supporting the institution’s educational mission.
- The chief has established strong relationships with key stakeholders across campus to elevate the collaborative work around safety.
Learn More
Overview of the University of South Alabama Police Department
The university police department (USAPD) is directed by the chief of police, a patrol captain and an administrative captain, an investigative lieutenant, and a special operations lieutenant. The department is comprised of 18 sworn police officers and a full-time support staff of seven civilian employees. It provides full police services to the university community, primarily the main campus and the Springhill Avenue campus.
The officers and staff are dedicated professionals committed to the safety and well-being of faculty, staff, students, and visitors. Their efforts are aimed at providing a safe and harmonious environment wherein the community can thrive and work together.
USAPD is a member of an elite group of law enforcement agencies accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies.
Peter Susman
Finance and Administration
get to know
Divisional Leadership
Peter Susman started at USA in 2016 as an assistant controller and also served as budget director before being named assistant vice president for finance and administration in 2021. Susman’s prior experience includes work with Deloitte & Touche, LLP in Chicago. He earned bachelor’s degrees in accounting and political science from Southern Methodist University and a master of business administration from the University of South Alabama.
Learn More
Institutional Overview
The University of South Alabama—USA or South for short—is home to over 13,000 students. South is a dynamic community of leaders and learners who support and challenge one another to be actively engaged citizens who advance the Gulf Coast region and the world. Founded in 1963, South’s vision is to foster an environment that couples engaging learning experiences with high-level research, enabling faculty and students to be leaders in their disciplines. South provides high-quality education in business, the liberal arts, education, engineering, computing, the sciences, and healthcare, offering more than 115 undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degrees through its ten colleges and schools. South is where students discover and strengthen their career passions and form connections that result in lifelong relationships.
USA Health stands as the only academic health system along the upper Gulf Coast. It provides excellent healthcare to the region’s diverse population at University Hospital, the Mitchell Cancer Institute, Children’s & Women’s Hospital, and physician practice sites throughout the area. With nearly 30 care delivery locations, the health system employs more than 5,200 clinical and nonclinical staff members to meld clinical care, research, and healthcare education into the most advanced medical care in the region.
Diversity Statement
The University of South Alabama’s diversity and inclusion committee helps to:
- Identify and develop creative strategies and initiatives to increase the number of students, faculty, and administrators from African American and other underrepresented groups.
- Monitor the university’s progress toward the goals of the strategic and diversity inclusion plan.
- Make the University of South Alabama an even more attractive and inclusive community for people of all races, ethnicities, faiths, and cultures.
For more information on diversity, equity, and inclusion, see here.
The Student Body
The University of South Alabama class of 2026, with 1,778 students, is the most academically talented first-year class in the university’s history. The class includes young leaders, philanthropists, and student-athletes. The total 2022 student enrollment is 13,463.
Incoming first-year international students are from 18 foreign countries: Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Czech Republic, Germany, India, Kenya, Morocco, Norway, Panama, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Venezuela, and Vietnam.
Incoming first-year students represent 31 states, including Alabama.
Josiah Bonner
Josiah Bonner is the fourth president of the University of South Alabama.
Previously, Bonner served as chief of staff to Alabama Governor Kay Ivey. He joined the Ivey administration in December 2018 as senior advisor to the governor. Before joining the Governor’s Office, he served as vice chancellor for economic development at The University of Alabama System (UAS) from 2013 to 2018. During his final year at UAS, he was an executive on loan, serving as interim executive director of the Tuscaloosa County Industrial Development Authority. For more than a decade, he Bonner represented Alabama’s First District in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was first elected to the 108th Congress in November 2002 and was reelected to five additional terms. As a student at The University of Alabama, Bonner worked on Capitol Hill as an intern for Congressman Jack Edwards. After graduation, he returned to Washington as press secretary and later chief of staff to Congressman Sonny Callahan.
President Bonner has received numerous awards and honors, including a 2021 induction into the Alabama Academy of Honor; the academy is the state’s premier recognition of 100 living Alabamians for their outstanding accomplishments and service. In 2016, the Business Council of Alabama (BCA) created the inaugural Congressman Jo Bonner Spirit of Leadership Award and honored Bonner as its first recipient. In 2013, he received the Distinguished Public Service Award, the highest honor the U.S. Navy bestows on a civilian. He also received the 2012 Governor Bob Riley Building a Better Alabama Award by the BCA.
Dr. Andrea M. Kent
Dr. Andrea (Andi) M. Kent, a native Mobilian and an alumna of the University of South Alabama, is serving as executive vice president and provost of the University of South Alabama. She embraces the notion of teaching, research, and service, focused upon supporting talented faculty as they lead innovative research, teach remarkable students, and engage in making a difference through service. Dr. Kent joins the university community in celebrating the collective milestones and individual achievements of many and continues to promote the ongoing development of a community of inclusivity where all voices are heard, valued, and respected.
Dr. Kent served as interim provost from 2020-2022 and as interim provost and executive vice president beginning in February 2022. As interim provost, Dr. Kent implemented the Start South dual degree program that allows students at more than a dozen high schools to get a head start on their college education. She has also supported the expansion of scholarship programs, including those based on need and others designed for active-duty military; the creation of South’s School of Marine and Environmental Sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences; and the growth of research in health sciences, engineering, and business.
Prior to her role as interim provost, Dr. Kent served as dean of the College of Education and Professional Studies, as well as associate dean, director of field services, and interim director of graduate studies in that college. Her professional experiences also include being a recognized scholar with four published books and nearly seven million dollars in external funding, along with many referred publications, scholarly presentations, and shepherding student research.
Dr. Kent earned her Doctor of Philosophy in instructional design and development and her Master of Education in early childhood education from USA, and earned her Bachelor of Science in early childhood and elementary education from the University of Mobile. She began her career in education in 1995 and became a member of the South Alabama family in 2004.
Learn more
Benefits Overview
Benefits at the university include the following:
- USA health and dental plans
- Flexible spending accounts
- Life and disability plans
- Retirement plans
- Educational benefit plan
- Global travel assistance
- Miscellaneous other benefits
For details on the benefits offered at the University of South Alabama, see here.
Application and Nomination
Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. To apply for this position please click on the Apply button, complete the brief application process, and upload your resume and position-specific cover letter. Nominations for this position and questions about the status of the search may be emailed to Heather J. Larabee at hjl@spelmanjohnson.com. Applicants needing reasonable accommodation to participate in the application process should contact Spelman Johnson at 413-529-2895 or email info@spelmanjohnson.com.
The public salary range is $150K – $170K with relocation assistance.
Visit the University of South Alabama website at www.southalabama.edu
The University of South Alabama is an EO/AA employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression), religion, age, genetic information, disability, or protected veteran status.