Chief of Police

QUALIFICATIONS AND CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATE

The successful candidate will have a bachelor’s degree and significant experience in progressively responsible positions in a comparable college or university setting, including several years in a senior leadership role focused on community policing. The next chief must have at least six years serving at a command level rank with diverse responsibilities, including assignments in administration or supervision of special programs in a department with similar size and complexity to the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. The ideal candidate will also be a standing member of the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators (IACLEA) and/or the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP).

Preferred qualifications include a master’s degree and completion of advanced training, such as the FBI National Academy.

In addition, stakeholders at UMass Dartmouth identified the following characteristics and attributes when considering the position of the chief (in no particular order):

• A transformative, innovative, and collaborative leader with a readiness to try new ideas, approaches, and technologies.
• Experience creating a unified vision, mission, and strategic plan to move a department in a positive direction.
• A genuine passion for the university environment with an ability to build strong rapport and working relationships with students, faculty, and staff.
• Maintaining high visibility and engagement throughout the campus and surrounding community.
• Culturally competent, with a true appreciation for diversity, equity, and inclusion, with demonstrated experience effectively working with and positively engaging a diverse student population.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively within a unionized environment.
• Ability to effectively foster strong partnerships with local and regional law enforcement and first responder agencies.
• Ability to invest the time to know the staff and advocate on their behalf to ensure their needs and concerns are heard and adequately addressed.
• Possess a genuinely inclusive leadership style that is confident, approachable, motivational, and transparent.
• A true team player with high professional ethics and personal integrity.
• A genuine willingness to work with and for students by actively engaging students in community policing practices and continual open communications.
• Understanding and appreciation for a service-oriented environment and an ability to fully comprehend the department’s integral role within the campus community.
• Highly committed to both professional and personal growth and development as a manager, leader, and public safety expert.
• Demonstrated complex change management experience and capable of initiating and managing change while ensuring that all stakeholders have been appropriately included in conversations and decisions.
• Ability to build a strong, empowered team with positive morale throughout the department while being deeply committed to staff members’ professional development and training.
• Strong supervisor capable of challenging and appreciating individuals while effectively working to professionalize the department and hold all staff accountable.
• Embrace an educational philosophy for the entire department, ensuring that officers understand their role as educators within the campus community;
• 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.
• 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.
• Expertise in related compliance requirements and best practices, including the Clery Act, mental health concerns, and bias incidents.

OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES OF THE ROLE

In transitioning to UMass Dartmouth, the chief will encounter the following opportunities and challenges, as shared by key UMass Dartmouth stakeholders:

• This is an exciting time for a new chief to lead the police department. UMass Dartmouth is committed to departmental culture change, as evidenced by the institution’s work with a public safety consultant to understand the department’s strengths and create the foundation for its future.
• The new chief will find a dedicated staff passionate about their work and serving the campus community.
• This is an exceptional opportunity to re-brand a campus police department.
• The chief will find a supportive administration committed to the department’s continued success.
• The UMass Dartmouth police department has been through a good amount of change over the past few years resulting in trust and morale issues that must be addressed. The incoming chief should be aware of the department’s history and committed to moving beyond their past to become a strong, high functioning department. The new chief must earn the department’s trust through open, transparent communication, empathy, and a genuine interest in each officer’s personal and professional development.
• 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.
• The new chief will find an engaged student population and campus colleagues that care about one another.
• A new building for the police department is currently being discussed.
• The union environment may sometimes be challenging to navigate, but relationships with the union have recently improved.
• Creating programs and initiatives to help the campus community understand its role in campus safety.
• The new chief has an incredible opportunity to positively contribute to the students’ lives.

MEASURES OF SUCCESS

At an appropriate interval after joining UMass Dartmouth, the following items will initially define success for the new chief.

• Through consistent, confident leadership, the chief is readily regarded as an active partner in supporting the institution’s educational mission.
• The department operates with a high level of professionalism, accountability, transparency, and competence with an ethos of compassion and empathy.
• The police department is fully integrated into the UMass Dartmouth community in the most positive way, and the students, administration, and campus community have confidence in the abilities of the department.
• 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 a vision, goals, and expectations for the department.
• The chief will have established strong relationships with key stakeholders across campus to elevate the collaborative work around safety.
• The chief has gained the trust of the department and the UMass Dartmouth community by being involved, visible, transparent, and engaged in all aspects of campus life.
• The chief, in conjunction with the department, has developed a strategic plan that guides short-term change and long-term development for the department.
• The chief is moving the department forward with innovative programs and initiatives
• The chief has identified relevant benchmarks based on national best practices and implemented appropriate assessment strategies.
• The chief has formed meaningful working relationships with local and regional law enforcement agencies, first-responders, community associations, and partners.