Colorado State University announces finalists for Chief of Police Position

Colorado State University today named three finalists for the chief of the university’s police department. The finalists will be invited to campus for open forums with the campus and larger community in June.

After the public forums with the candidates, the committee anticipates being able to move forward with a recommendation for the position in July. The committee’s goal is to hire a chief by the time classes start in mid-August.

The finalists are:

– Jerry Schiager, a commander at Fort Collins Police Services.

– Wendy Rich-Goldschmidt, current chief of police at the University of Northern Colorado.

– Joe Pittman, current chief of police at the University of Alaska – Anchorage.

Dates of the public forums with each candidate will be announced soon, pending schedule arrangements.

"The committee received applications from an exceptionally strong pool of candidates for this position," said Blanche Hughes, vice president of Student Affairs and the chair of the search committee. "We believe that out of this pool we can confidently recommend a candidate with the ability to lead the university’s police department and work with the larger Fort Collins community."

The Colorado State University Police Department is located on campus in Green Hall.

A search committee for the position was named in April. Hughes was appointed by Interim President Tony Frank to chair the 12-person search committee. Other members are David Bradford, director of CSU Parking; Bob Chaffee, retired CSUPD police officer; Craig Chesson, director of Conflict Resolution; Ann Gill, dean of the College of Liberal Arts; Chris Haase, assistant director, Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity; Brad Hurst, criminal justice instructor in the College of Liberal Arts; Emily Krogman, Associated Students of Colorado State University representative; Linda Schutjer, attorney, Office of General Counsel; Don Vagge, a captain within the Fort Collins Police Department; and Joan Williams, CSUPD records manager.

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