UTC is making wholesale changes to its police department, including the retirement of Chief Robert Ratchford, who has been with the department for 42 years.
Brent Goldberg, Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration, said it was decided to combine three campus police posts into one.
The three are chief, captain and assistant Vice Chancellor for Emergency Services.
John Boe held the captain position, and Robbie Robinson was assistant Vice Chancellor for Emergency Services.
UTC is now advertising for an Associate Vice Chancellor for Public Safety and Chief of Police.
Mr. Goldberg said in a campus message, "As we strive to operate with excellence, I am writing to announce changes focused on enhancing public safety on campus. Effective November 20, 2023, UTC Emergency Services was reorganized as UTC Public Safety. This reorganization was necessary to achieve the following goals:
- Modernize our strategy for mitigating public safety risks
- Streamline protocols and processes
- Reduce administrative costs
- Increase operational capacity
"Chief Ratchford will retire after 42 years of service to UTC. We have asked him to serve as a special advisor until February 15, 2024. As part of the reorganization, the positions of Assistant Vice Chancellor for Emergency Services, Police Chief, and Police Captain were eliminated as of November 20, 2023.
"The Assistant Vice Chancellor, Police Chief, and Police Captain positions are being combined into one new position - Associate Vice Chancellor for Public Safety/Police Chief. We will soon begin a national search for this position.
This reorganization allows us to use administrative cost savings to expand operational capacity within the division of Public Safety as follows:
- New position responsible for safety in academic affairs, especially laboratory safety
- New police officer position
- New security officer position
- Additional operating needs to be determined by new Police Chief
"UTC Public Safety includes the following functions:
- UTC Police
- Clery Compliance/Records Management
- Emergency Management
- Environmental Health & Safety
- Physical Security
"Lieutenant Matt Holzmacher has been named Interim Police Chief and Bob Jackson continues to have responsibility for emergency management, environmental health, and safety.
"Campus safety is our top priority, and I am confident that we are moving in the right direction as we increase operational capacity and modernize our approach to overall public safety."
Here is information on the new position that is being advertised:
The Associate Vice Chancellor of Public Safety and Chief of Police (AVCPS) serves as the Chief Law Enforcement Officer (CLEO) for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) and administrator for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Police Department (UTCPD), in addition to providing organizational vision and oversight for the Office of Emergency Management (OEM) and Environmental Health and Safety (EHS). The incumbent is responsible and accountable for the safety and security of the University community, including all (1) law enforcement and security operations, (2) emergency planning and management, (3) occupational and environmental safety, (4) life safety systems, (5) security and surveillance systems, and (6) Clery Act Compliance.
The AVCPS will establish and maintain departmental priorities and organizational structures for the Department of Public Safety (DPS). The incumbent has final approval on all allocations of resources, personnel, and responsibilities within DPS. The AVCPS prepares the budget for UTCPD and serves as the final approval for all financial expenditures in for all Public Safety units. The incumbent will oversee the hiring of all UTCPD sworn and unsworn personnel, Director(s) of the OEM and EHS, and the Clery Compliance Coordinator, in addition to providing oversight for personnel decisions regarding UTPCD personnel and guidance on personnel issues within other Public Safety units. The AVCPS will serve as the primary liaison to all local, state, and federal law enforcement, fire, emergency medical service, and emergency management agencies, maintaining regular communication and interagency cooperation.
Duties and Responsibilities:
Police
- Oversees all financial aspects of the departments operations; responsible for financial management according to University policies and procedures, and financial accounting practices; overall responsibility for department budget, and final authority on all department expenditures; approves financial and human resource transactions in appropriate system; responsible for ensuring reimbursable events are recovered in departments budget.
- Overall authority for hiring, discipline, and serves as the appointing authority for the department, including decisions on staffing for benefited and non-benefited positions; assesses personnel allocation and determines if appropriate personnel are assigned to shifts.
- Reviews, updates, and approves all policies in TLEA accredited agency; provides proofs of accreditation adherence and directs others to do the same; ensures sworn and non-sworn personnel receive proper training to maintain certifications.
- Serves as the primary liaison to all local, state, and federal law enforcement, fire, emergency medical service, and emergency management agencies, maintaining regular communication and interagency cooperation; serves on various University committees.
- Makes trained staff available for security assessments as needed; ensures that the campus community is kept apprised of safety and security concerns; coordinates the release of information to internal and external stakeholders.
- Delegates duties as needed to Police Command Staff.
Emergency Management / Environmental Health and Safety
- Oversees the performance and expectations of the Director of the Office of Emergency Management (OEM) and Environmental Health and Safety (EHS)
o Provides annual performance and achievement goals for OEM; provides input on institutional safety emphasis and emergency management efforts; provides budgetary support and leadership to help OEM reach established goals.
o Provides annual performance and achievement goals for OEM; provides input on institutional safety emphasis and emergency management efforts; provides budgetary support and leadership to help OEM reach established goals.
Clery Act
- Provides direct oversight of all efforts regarding compliance with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act).
- Life Safety, Security, and Surveillance systems Provides oversight of all campus life safety, security, and surveillance systems; approves or rejects all proposals of new or additional equipment, and ensures such equipment meets established requirements for addition to campus infrastructure; maintains inventory, orders repairs, and replacement of equipment; updates campus Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) policy in accordance with state and federal laws; approves or rejects applicable requests for UAV operations on campus.
Application Process:
In addition to the online application, a resume and cover letter are required.
Review of applications will begin February 1, 2024, and continue until the position is filled. Applications received by this date will receive priority consideration.
Required Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice, Public Administration, Business Management, or related field.
- Valid driver’s license.
- Possess and maintain an active Tennessee Peace Officers Standards and Training (POST) certification; or possess an active equivalent certification from another state that will meet. Tennessee POST requirements for participation in Transition School within six (6) months.
- Excellent knowledge of Clery, Title IX, VAWA and Campus SAVE Act regulations.
- Excellent knowledge of National Incident Management System (NIMS) and Incident Command System (ICS).
- Knowledge of state and federal criminal laws.
- Knowledge of law enforcement Accreditation standards, particularly those standards set forth by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement (CALEA).
Preferred Qualifications:
- Master’s degree in Criminal Justice, Public Administration, Business Management, or related field.
- Graduate of FBI National Academy of similar professional law enforcement leadership academy.
- 10 years overall command level experience in law enforcement.
- Maintains a Federal Security Clearance.