Director of Public Safety
: Job Details :

• Reports to: Associate Vice President, Facilities and Risk Management

Heather J. Larabee, EdDManaging Senior Consultant

Reporting to the associate vice president, facilities and risk management, the director of public safety is responsible for providing leadership, mentoring, direction, and management for the department, including but not limited to officer recruitment, training and management, patrol operations, event management, investigations, community outreach and policing, crime prevention strategies, crime statistics and federal compliance reporting, threat assessment, and crisis and emergency response management. The director is a strategic advisor on safety, security, and crisis management issues, and collaborates closely with law enforcement and local and regional agencies. The director must build and maintain collaborative and effective relationships with the internal and external community, including partnering with student development leadership and staff to identify problem areas and effect positive change. In addition, the director will assess public safety training needs and support the implementation of training programs such as university-wide tabletop exercises, new employee orientations, public safety trainings, active shooter trainings, and other topics as needed, ensuring all training programs are tracked and evaluated for effectiveness and compliance. The director supervises five direct reports and manages a $500K budget.

• Infuse community policing through the culture and organizational structure of the department.
• Partner with and assist students with police-related problems and/or when they are seeking support.
• Participate in orientation programs to introduce new students to safety and security issues on campus.
• Create opportunities for positive non-enforcement interactions with students and other campus community members.
• Build and maintain positive relationships with the Baltimore City Police Department at the local district and commissioner levels, including the Baltimore City Fire Department, for fire protection and emergency medical services (EMS). Work with other local law enforcement agencies to establish relationships as needed to support police, fire, EMS, and emergency response activities for the campus.
• Serve as the Lead Clery Compliance Officer for the university. Ensure compliance with the maintenance of campus crime statistics and federal compliance reporting.

Qualifications and Characteristics of the Successful Candidate

The successful candidate will have a bachelor's degree (master's preferred) and a minimum of eight years of progressively responsible public safety and/or law enforcement experience, including at least three years of management experience within a college or university setting. The director must be able to provide leadership in addressing the safety needs of a diverse campus environment and support the mission and values of a Catholic Jesuit education, as well as university goals for equity and inclusion. Further, the new director will have proven leadership and management skills; superior communication skills; patience and tolerance; the ability to build teams and trust; and a strong commitment to the education and development of young adults. Knowledge of criminal and civil law, the operation of the court system, and appropriate laws impacting compliance are required. The director must be readily available to respond to major incidents, critical situations, and emergencies (must be reachable at all times). This sworn position requires the director to receive and/or maintain a Maryland Special Police Commission certification.

In addition to the qualifications stated above, key stakeholders identified the following capabilities and attributes of a successful candidate:

• Possesses a genuine willingness to work with and for the community by actively engaging in community policing practices, continual open communications, positive daily interactions with a high degree of visibility, and responsiveness to the needs and concerns of the campus.
• Has an understanding and appreciation for a student-centered, service-oriented environment and the ability to fully comprehend the department's integral role within the campus community.
• Is a strong supervisor capable of challenging and appreciating individuals while working effectively to continue to professionalize the department, enhance training, and incorporate best practices.
• Embraces an educational philosophy for the entire department, ensuring officers understand their role as educators within the campus community.
• Is a true team player with a high level of professional ethics and personal integrity.
• Possesses a genuinely inclusive leadership style that is confident, compassionate, motivational, and transparent, with the ability to be firm, clear, and direct.
• Has solid experience developing, implementing, and evaluating policies, procedures, and protocols.

History of the Position

The previous director left the institution after serving for three years. At this time, an interim was named as the university embarked on a staffing analysis for the department. With that analysis completed, Loyola is excited to move forward in their search for a new director of public safety.

Opportunities and Challenges of the Role

In transitioning to Loyola University Maryland, the new director will encounter the following opportunities, priorities, and challenges, as shared by key campus stakeholders:

• Provide structure for the continued training and education of the entire department with a focus on their role as educators in a service-oriented environment,
• Hire and retain qualified professionals to bring department staffing up to the appropriate level.
• Bring creativity, best practices, and authentic leadership to this role while building strategic partnerships to further the work of public safety.
• Fully integrate public safety into the campus culture; the department is considered competent, trustworthy, and connected to the campus community.
• Develop a plan to enhance communication efforts with all stakeholders.

Measures of Success

The items listed below will define the director of public safety success throughout the first year of employment:

• The new director has formed meaningful relationships with local and regional law enforcement agencies, first responders, community associations, and partners.
• The new director will have embraced the mission and culture of Loyola and be focused on building relationships.
• The new director has gained the trust of the Loyola community by being involved, visible, transparent, and engaged in all aspects of campus life.
• The new director has worked to elevate the departments' training and education.
• The director has reviewed and updated or created policies, procedures, and protocols that have been clearly communicated to stakeholders; the campus has confidence in the new director and their team.
• The morale within the department is strong, and staff members feel supported and appreciated by the campus community.

Overview of the Department of Public Safety

The Loyola University Maryland department of public safety is comprised of sworn and civilian employees who work 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to protect and serve the Loyola community. Loyola police officers have full police authority on all university property and work in close partnership with the Baltimore City Police Department to serve the community. Loyola police officers are unarmed but carry a range of medical supplies and non-lethal protective equipment for everyone's safety. In regards to our partnership with Baltimore City Police, the officers we employ on a part-time basis work mainly on our perimeters as an additional resource for Loyola and the surrounding community. Our physical patrol teams are supported by APCO certified dispatchers located in our state-of-the-art communications center, where a network of over 800 security cameras, alarm systems, and access control systems are always active. The safety and well-being of our community is our top priority. In fact, Loyola's campus wasranked one of the safest college campuses in the State of Maryland .

Associate Vice President Facilities and Risk Management

Helen Schneider has served in several administrative roles since joining Loyola in 1998. She currently is serving as the interim vice president for administration and manages the University's facilities, construction projects, sustainability efforts, environmental health and safety, Public Safety, and risk management for the University. Prior to Loyola, Helen had ten years of higher education experience at Washington College and the Maryland Independent College and University Association. She holds a bachelor of arts in economics and psychology from the University of Virginia and a master of business administration from the University of Delaware.

Loyola University Maryland, a Jesuit Catholic institution located in the vibrant city of Baltimore, is a prestigious, selective, comprehensive university with a strong residential liberal arts-based undergraduate program and professional graduate programs at the master's and doctoral levels. Deeply committed to the Ignatian principles upon which it was founded, Loyola focuses on the care and education of the whole person — mind, body, and spirit — and its mission centers on preparing its students to learn, lead, and serve in a diverse and changing world. The Wall Street Journal ranked Loyola No. 1 among midsized colleges in the South and No. 23 overall in the nation in its 2025 “Best Colleges” list.

Founded in 1852 in a state that began as a leader in offering religious freedom to Roman Catholics, Loyola is one of 27 Jesuit institutions of higher education in the U.S. and the first to be named for St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits. Today, the Loyola community encompasses a diverse population of approximately 4,900 undergraduate and graduate students, nearly 500 full-time and part-time faculty, more than 600 staff and administrators, and more than 70,000 alumni. Loyola offers programs of instruction in over 40 disciplines, with a Jesuit, liberal arts education central to the University's mission.

The Student Body

Undergraduate: 3,987

Graduate: 1,120

Male: 39%

Female: 61%

African American/Black: 13%

Asian: 4%

White: 61%

Two or More Races: 5%

Institutional Leadership

Terrence M. Sawyer, J.D.

President

Terrence M. Sawyer, J.D., has been the 25th president of Loyola University Maryland since Jan. 1, 2022. Under his leadership, Loyola created and launched its strategic plan,Together We Rise: Loyola University Maryland's Strategic Plan for 2030, which aspires to make Loyola a preeminent university for student success. President Sawyer, who joined the Loyola community in 1998, served most recently as senior vice president. In that role, he oversaw an advancement team that raised more than $100 million through theBright Minds, Bold Heartscampaign and secured gifts to build the Fernandez Center of Innovation and Collaborative Learning, a career services team that has re-envisioned the University's approach to the discernment and pursuit of careers for its students and alumni; and the office of marketing and communications.

Earlier in his career at Loyola, President Sawyer was instrumental in developing and launching theYork Road Initiative , where Loyola collaborates with neighbors and partners in the Govans community to bring positive change in the areas of civic capacity, education, and economic and business development.

Ignatius Loyola and his Jesuits have seen the world, in the phrase of the great Jesuit poet Gerard Manley Hopkins, as “charged with the grandeur of God.” This means that they regard the rich diversity of life and creation to be inherently good—even holy—insofar as that diversity shows forth countless reflections of the Creator's own inexhaustibly rich nature. Ignatius also conceived of his Jesuits from their inception as a global order at the service of the worldwide Church; and the Jesuit educational tradition, as a humanistic ideal conceived in the “age of exploration,” has from the outset regarded greater breadth of knowledge and a more comprehensively global perspective as hallmarks of heightened excellence. Indeed, throughout their history, Jesuits have been noted for their openness to and close observation of cultures other than their own, as well as for their efforts at mutually enriching intercultural dialogue. Many have distinguished themselves, for instance, by the careful study of indigenous languages in their adopted countries and cultures. Hence, it seems unsurprising that Jesuit schools have traditionally fostered openness toward and special interest in peoples, experiences, and ideas that are new, different, and diverse. The Jesuit educational tradition has sought to celebrate differences while at the same time seeking out and highlighting fundamental human qualities which are shared across diverse cultures. Beyond its Jesuit heritage, Loyola has its own tradition and history of religious diversity. When the University was founded in 1852, one of its seven original students was non-Christian; and perhaps as a consequence, chapel attendance was never mandatory at Loyola. The current and ongoing commitment of the Jesuits to such diversity is expressed in the documents of their most recent General Congregation: “The signs of the times give stark proof of the fact that a faith doing justice must necessarily lead to ecumenical and interreligious dialogue and cooperation.”

Benefits Overview

To learn more about the benefits offered by Loyola University of Maryland, please click here .

Application

Review of applications will begin June 4, 2025, 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. Applicants needing reasonable accommodation to participate in the application process should contact Spelman Johnson at 413-###-#### or email ...@spelmanjohnson.com .

Loyola University Maryland strongly values the benefits that diversity brings to the workplace. In accord with its Ignatian values, the University is committed to creating and promoting a community that recognizes the inherent value and dignity of each person. Loyola University Maryland does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, color, national or ethnic origin, age, religion, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, military status, or any other legally protected classification. The University recruits, hires, and promotes in accord with this policy and its Core Values.

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