The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) is seeking a highly collaborative, compassionate, and innovative leader to be its next Chief of Police.
Both the ten-campus University of California (UC) system and the Berkeley campus are rethinking and planning change and implementation efforts around the broad concept of public safety. In August 2021, the University of California Office of the President (UCOP) released its UC Community Safety Plan along witha letter and video message to the university community from UC President Michael V. Drake. The plan offers a new, welcome vision for the provision of campus and community safety. The anticipated changes in culture, policies and practices for campus police departments are designed to afford every member of the community with the respect and protection they need and deserve.
The UC Police Department (UCPD) and UC Berkeley’s new Chief of Police will play a key leadership role in these efforts for UC Berkeley. The UCOP plan complements efforts on the Berkeley campus for reforms and improvements to community safety practices. UC Berkeley is seeking a candidate who is willing to work closely with others and lead their department and staff to bring important, positive change for its community.
The four key thematic areas for the next Chief of Police are:
- Innovation and change management
- Collaboration and partnership with community both on and off campus
- Demonstrated commitment to the values of diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, and justice
- Subject matter expertise and experience with policing policies and departments
Innovation and Change Management
The campus community is seeking a peace officer who is an innovative, collaborative, and transformational leader committed to ensuring public safety for the UC Berkeley community. The preferred candidate will have the courage, creativity, humility, and vision to be a key partner with the campus administration and various other stakeholders including faculty, students, staff, the police department, and other law enforcement agencies in neighboring communities with the goal of reimagining and rebuilding the role of police in public safety. Central to this role is understanding the complexities of working as part of a world leading educational institution in a vibrant and diverse urban environment. The opportunity for the Chief to partner on rethinking the role of police as part of the constellation of contributors to ensuring public safety will not only contribute to a thriving UC Berkeley community but serve as a model for other institutions and agencies across the country.
Change management will be a critical aspect of this role. The new Chief of Police must bring an understanding of the mission of UCPD and the responsibilities of the department and its various roles. In addition, this candidate will help lead UC Police Department (UCPD) staff, both sworn and non-sworn, in the implementation of changes in support of overall campus safety and the mission of the University. The UCPD staff understands the need for change and are looking for their next leader to help guide the department toward positive change and partner with them in these efforts.
Collaboration and partnership with community both on and off campus
In considering safety broadly, the Chief of Police and the department will partner with other campus units, such as, but not limited to, University Health Services’ mental health crisis response, the Basic Needs Center, and Compliance Services. The new Chief of Police must understand the concept of psychological safety and be committed to promoting psychological safety on campus. Additionally, recognizing the diversity–along many dimensions–of the UC Berkeley campus requires understanding of what trauma-informed care means for community members and how it impacts the way the UCPD department itself is structured and how the department fits into a much larger campus ecosystem. In addition, to manage jurisdictions and ensure the safety of the campus community, the Chief of Police and their department will need to be highly collaborative with various other city, county, and state agencies and build positive relations with city officials and community members in the neighborhoods adjacent to campus.
Demonstrated commitment to the values of diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, and justice
The Chief of Police and their department will learn, recognize, respect and actively engage with a diverse community of stakeholders including individuals of various races and ethnicities, gender expression, sexual identity, disability, religion, socioeconomic positions including the homeless, and other various identity intersections. This level of cultural humility will be reflected in a demonstrated track record of successful partnership and efforts along these lines and in how the Chief and the department interacts with faculty, students, staff, and the other community stakeholders on and off of the Berkeley campus. In particular, students are a vital part of the Berkeley campus community and bring diverse perspectives and experiences. All students desire safety (defined holistically), but some do not feel safe with visible police presence on campus, particularly those from historically minoritized and otherwise marginalized groups. The Chief must work to build trust with the student population by: being an advocate for students; supporting and listening to student stakeholders; and being open, willing, and skilled in having courageous conversations.
In addition, to manage jurisdictions and ensure the safety of the campus community, the Chief of Police and their department will need to be highly collaborative with other city, county, and state agencies. Through these collaborations the Chief of Police will need to craft partnerships that ensure the safety for all members of the campus community while protecting and respecting the human rights of our most vulnerable students and neighbors.
Subject matter expertise and experience with policing policies and departments
The next Chief will be a subject matter expert of relevant policing operations and issues, and a leader and model for the UCPD department.
UCPD has primary law enforcement jurisdiction on the Berkeley campus and associated University properties in Albany, Berkeley, Emeryville, Kensington, Oakland, and Richmond. Officers receive the same basic training as city, county and state peace officers in California, plus additional training to meet the unique needs of the Berkeley campus. The department handles all 911 related calls, campus emergencies, patrol, criminal investigations, crime prevention surveys, related law enforcement duties for the campus community, and operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week. UCPD coordinates with the City of Berkeley, operating joint patrol programs in the south campus area, and communicating at all levels to ensure the effective provision of police services.
UC Berkeley has a tripartite mission of changing the world through public service, research, and teaching. These three areas converge in the role of the Chief in that the incumbent contributes to the imagining and planning of a police department to support the academic and public service mission of the University. The Chief may be considered an educator, in part, as they are part of and work with the community and co-create with stakeholders the best possible vision and implementation of safety operation. In terms of research and innovation, the campus will be a partner and working laboratory for the Chief to lead efforts to rethink policies and practices along with their department and other campus stakeholders. As a public land-grant institution of higher education, and the leading public institution in the world, Berkeley has an unwavering commitment to excellence in each of its mission areas. The new Chief will have the opportunity to contribute to that excellence, and optimize and create new efforts to ensure a campus that honors the public mission.
This key leadership role for the Berkeley campus and neighbor communities reports to the Vice Chancellor for Administration (VCA).
The complete job posting can be found at Jobs.Berkeley.edu under Chief of Police - Job #32417
To learn more about the UC Police Department (UCPD) at Berkeley, please visit ucpd.berkeley.edu
Nominations and inquiries can be directed to Berkeley Executive Search (BES).
The University of California, Berkeley, is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer with a strong institutional commitment to the achievement of diversity. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age or protected veteran status.
For the complete University of California nondiscrimination and affirmative action policy see:http://policy.ucop.edu/doc/4000376/NondiscrimAffirmAct
Survey
We seek input from the campus community about this critical position. Please submit your input on this online survey. The survey should take approximately 10 minutes. It is a way for the search committee and BES to seek input from the Berkeley community in all areas. Your feedback will be very helpful to the committee as it searches for UC Berkeley's next Chief of Police. Information gathered by mid-February will be used in drafting the position description, and the survey will be available throughout the search. Please note that your responses will be anonymous.
Timeline
The Chief of Police search committee members and search firm were selected in January. Stakeholder listening sessions took place in February to gather feedback about the skills and qualities that are needed in the next Chief of Police, and about the short- and long-term priorities for this role. Recruitment for the position will occur throughout early Spring, and interviews will be conducted in Spring 2022.
Chief of Police Search Committee 2022
Marc Fisher
Vice Chancellor for Administration (Search Chair)
Amani M. Allen
Executive Associate Dean & Professor, School of Public Health
Lucy Andrews
External Affairs Vice President, Graduate Assembly & Graduate Student
Erwin Chemerinksy
Dean, Berkeley Law
Ronald C. Cohen
Chair, Academic Senate & Professor, College of Chemistry
Carrie Ann Colton
Director, Employee & Labor Relations, People & Culture (Central HR)
Billy Curtis
Executive Director, Gender Equity Resource Center, EJCE, Division of Equity & Inclusion
Joseph Farrow
Chief of Police, UC Davis
Khira Griscavage
Associate Chancellor & Chief of Staff to the Chancellor & Chief Ethics, Risk, and Compliance Officer
Amanda Hill
ASUC Senator & Undergraduate Student
Sunny Lee
Assistant Vice Chancellor & Dean of Students, Division of Student Affairs
Ruben Lizardo
Director, Local Government and Community Relations, Office of the Chancellor
Sabrina Reich
Lieutenant, UCPD
This committee is being supported by William W. Reichle, Assistant Vice Chancellor, and Chief of Staff, Administration.
The search is being supported by the executive search team Berkeley Executive Search (BES), led by James Kao. Inquiries and nominations can be sent directly to the BES team supporting this search at executivesearch@berkeley.edu.