Associate Vice Chancellor & Chief of Campus Safety

The University of Denver (DU) seeks an experienced, collaborative, and community-oriented Campus Safety leader to serve as its next Associate Vice Chancellor and Chief of Campus Safety. The expected start date is late fall 2025.

Responsibilities of the Position

Reporting to the chief risk and compliance officer, the associate vice chancellor and chief of campus safety (chief) directs the work of the department of campus safety (DCS). The department comprises 40 unsworn and unarmed team members who provide services in campus security, fire and life safety, emergency preparedness, electronic security systems, patrol operations, investigations, community outreach / crime prevention, recruitment efforts, accreditation and compliance, and communications. The chief leads the university's incident management team, acting as the incident commander, and serves as the university's primary liaison with the City of Denver police, fire, emergency medical services, and emergency preparedness departments, as well as with other external law enforcement, government, and public safety entities.

Key duties of the chief of campus safety include the following :

Leadership and Vision

• Serves as the university's chief safety officer, responsible for protecting life and property, preserving peace, maintaining order, and directing the enforcement of all federal, state, and local laws within the jurisdiction of the university and university regulations.
• Establishes a vision and clearly defines the department's mission and goals based on current needs and future expectations, and in alignment with the overall mission and goals of the university.
• Establishes the tone and expectations of the department through leading by example.
• Plans, organizes, and directs DCS's operations, activities, programs, and functions, and consistently promotes its mission.
• Formulates and updates the department's ongoing overall strategies on an as-needed basis.
• Establishes goals for implementing department values, philosophies, and principles that improve quality of life in the community and the workplace.
• Ensures a structure and systems that address departmental as well as internal and external community needs.

Collaboration and Community Engagement

Administration and Compliance

Staff Management and Development

Operations

Qualifications and Characteristics of the Successful Candidate

A bachelor's degree; a minimum of five years of progressively increasing responsibility in managing a multi-department operation, including management of personnel and budgets; and demonstrated knowledge of relevant laws and current issues of public safety and private security functions are required.

Experience in a higher education environment is strongly preferred.

In addition to the above qualifications, the chief must meet the following requirements :

History of the Position

Michael Bunker led DU's campus safety department from September 2021 to July 2025. He is credited with continuing to professionalize the department, being a visible representative of the department on campus, building collaborative relationships with student affairs and athletics, advancing the use of technology, and developing a campus safety strategy that is responsive to the board of trustees' concerns. Bunker is departing DU to assume the role of chief of campus safety and emergency management services at Syracuse University.

Deputy Chief Joe Samels is serving as the interim chief while DU conducts this national search for its next Associate Vice Chancellor and Chief of Campus Safety.

Opportunities and Challenges of the Role

The associate vice chancellor and chief campus safety officer will be expected to manage complex situations and staffing; role model a sincere and community-oriented commitment to equity and belonging in the context of campus safety; possess a sophisticated understanding of current and emerging trends in campus security practices and reform; and contribute at a strategic leadership level at a vibrant research institution.

Further, there is strong interest within the DU community for DCS to lead the university's efforts in community caretaking, which is built on two key principles : (1) minimizing criminal opportunities and (2) encouraging shared responsibility for safety and well-being. Campus stakeholders are unified in their commitment to identifying a talented and collegial individual who is interested in developing and implementing a community caretaking model within the department that is aligned with the university's mission and priorities.

It is within this context that the next chief will lead the following strategic priorities to advance a nationally recognized, accredited safety program :

The next chief will exemplify a culture of engaged collaboration and partnership, with the ability to communicate clearly and transparently across campus for solutions to create a fair, equitable, and inclusive 21st-century approach to safety and security. It will be crucial that the new chief quickly reach out to all campus community members to build solid and mutually beneficial relationships that engender confidence and engage the community to recover from constituency discontent related to the recent encampment activities and political unrest.

The chief will lead efforts to deepen campus understanding of community caretaking by understanding the unique dynamics of a university campus and its community members; empowering the leadership team to use its experience, skills, and training; supporting safety officers; and providing input and expertise to guide the Campus Safety Advisory Council.

With many safety-related incidents involving mental health, the chief will strengthen DCS's coordination with student affairs, residential housing, and health and counseling services, ensuring the department continues evolving its response strategies and developing innovative, compassionate approaches.

Upon arrival, the chief should quickly prioritize getting to know the departmental staff as individuals and as members of distinct units, learn their specific needs and career goals, and ascertain and understand their various responsibilities and roles. Based on this understanding, the chief will provide role clarity and team development for the command leadership team to effectively delegate responsibility and authority for patrol, community caretaking, emergency preparedness, officer training, behavioral intervention, and event management. Further, the chief will cultivate a departmental culture of trust, readiness, and service to a community whose psychological safety needs can be stirred by internal and external forces.

While prevention remains the focus, the department must be ready for a range of incidents common to urban and educational settings. Following the 2024 approval of the access to arms program, the chief will oversee its phased implementation with strategic care and accountability.

Measures of Success

The associate vice chancellor and chief of campus safety will work directly with the chief risk and compliance officer to identify specific quantitative and qualitative measures of success and their timetables soon after joining the University of Denver.

In the first 12-18 months, the chief's success will be measured by the following :

Longer term success will be indicated by the following :

Overview of the Department of Campus Safety

University of Denver's department of campus safety is an unsworn, unarmed 24-hour / seven-day-a-week operation that receives approximately 13,000 calls for service and 62,000 computer-aided dispatch events annually.

DCS has been accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA) since 2015, making it the first campus safety department at a private institution to receive accreditation through CALEA's Campus Security Accreditation program. DCS received CALEA reaccreditation in 2024 and will conduct its next accreditation reassessment in 2028.

The department comprises the following specialized functions and services :

Given the scope of DU's physical facilities and geographic locations, the university has a relationship with the Denver Police Department for the Denver campus and has a memorandum of understanding with the Larimer County Sheriff's Office for the Kennedy Mountain Campus.

Mission

The mission of DCS is to enhance the quality of life at DU by providing a safe and secure environment that is conducive to learning while building collaborative community partnerships based on inclusivity, mutual respect, and trust.

Vision

It is the vision of the Department of Campus Safety to exemplify its commitment to the DU campus community it serves by fostering a culture of accountability, professionalism, and a standard of excellence.

Staffing Structure

Chief

Benefits Overview

The salary range for this position is $158,000-$175,000.

The University of Denver has provided a compensation range that represents its good-faith estimate of what the university may pay for the position at the time of posting. The university may ultimately pay more or less than the posted compensation range. The salary offered to the selected candidate will be determined based on factors such as the qualifications of the selected candidate, departmental budget availability, internal salary equity considerations, and available market information, but not based on a candidate's sex or any other protected status. A final offer of employment at the University of Denver is contingent on successfully completing a comprehensive criminal history background check.

DU offers the following comprehensive and competitive benefits to employees :

For more information, please review the 2025 Employee Benefits Guide.

Application

Review of applications will begin Monday, August 11, 2025, and continue until the position is filled. To apply for this position, please click on the Apply button on Spelman Johnson's website, 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 413-529-2895 or email info@spelmanjohnson.com.

The University of Denver is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression), marital, family, or parental status, pregnancy or related conditions, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran. The University of Denver does not discriminate and prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, ancestry, age, religion, creed, disability, sex (including sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression), marital family, and parental status, pregnancy, genetic information, military enlistment, or veteran status, and any other class of individuals protected from discrimination under federal, state, or local law, regulation, or ordinance in any of the University's educational programs and activities, and in the employment (including application for employment) and admissions (including application for admission) context, as required by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972; the Americans with Disabilities Act; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; Title VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; the Age Discrimination Act of 1975; the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967; the Equal Pay Act; the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act; the Colorado Protecting Opportunities and Worker's Rights ("POWR") Act; and any other federal, state, and local laws, regulations, or ordinances that prohibit discrimination, harassment, and / or retaliation. For more information, please see the University of Denver's Non-Discrimination-Statement.

All offers of employment are contingent upon satisfactory completion of a criminal history background check.

Advertised : July 15, 2025

Applications close :