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Director of the Year Guidelines

Judging Criteria:

  1. Nominee exhibits outstanding leadership and management abilities
  2. Nominee brings out the best in officers and staff
  3. Officer morale is high, even under difficult circumstances, and department employees are motivated
  4. Nominee fosters excellent community relations and extensive involvement with the public (students, patients, parents, employees, faculty, etc.)
  5. Nominee is excellent at handling budget issues and when the budget is cut, is able to do more with less
  6. Nominee develops initiatives that result in cost savings
  7. Nominee employs innovative solutions (“outside the box” thinking) when necessary
  8. Nominee has overcome unusual challenges
  9. Nominee’s initiatives have resulted in the resolution of long-term problems, either on campus or in the campus safety and security community as a whole
  10. When applicable, nominee’s achievements are quantifiable

Some examples of outstanding achievement and performance by a campus police chief or public safety director include:

  • Improved officer response times and community interaction due to increased patrols using alternative methods of transportation (e.g. bikes, horses) or community policing
  • Reduced rate and/or number of crimes and incidents at public events due to pre-event planning and revised crowd management tactics
  • Increased number of crime reports due to improved Clery Act/Joint Commission/Title IX compliance and/or improved community relations
  • Improved internal and external communications interoperability via equipment and/or mutual aid agreements
  • Reduced rate of crime due to the installation or upgrade of cameras, access control, burglary and fire systems
  • Maintained high officer and employee morale despite recent traumatic incidents or setbacks
  • Improved community relations and involvement resulting in fewer complaints
  • Effectively recruited and incorporated volunteers, leading to greater on-campus officer presence
  • Implemented enhanced disaster response strategies, recovery plans, and protocols
  • Increased number and frequency of training sessions so officers successfully handle real-world, in-the-field situations
  • Sustained excellent personal and subordinate performance despite significant obstacles or difficult circumstances
  • Participation in local, regional or national industry associations or legislative initiatives resulting in the betterment of the campus safety and security community as a whole
  • Other innovative initiatives that have lead to increased efficiency, morale, security and/or safety

WHENEVER POSSIBLE, PLEASE USE EXAMPLES TO DEMONSTRATE WHY THE NOMINEE DESERVES THIS AWARD.

Eligibility: Nominee must have the title of “Campus Police Chief,” “Director of Public Safety & Security,” “Emergency Manager,” “Vice President of Public Safety” or the equivalent. The campus he or she oversees must be located and operated in the United States or Canada and must be a hospital, university, college, K-12 school or school district.

Note: All submitted materials become the property of Campus Safety and cannot be returned. Please limit the number of pages of your entire entry -- including references, photos, and explanations -- to 15.

Good Luck!