Marlene Hall, director of Syracuse University's Department of Public Safety (DPS), has announced she will be leaving Syracuse to become chief of the Police and Public Safety Department at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Her last day at SU will be March 11.
"It was a difficult decision, but this was an opportunity that I just couldn't pass up, with the added bonus of proximity to my family," Hall says. "The past four years at Syracuse have been an exciting and satisfying period of professional and personal growth for me, and I will miss my many friends and colleagues."
"Marlene has led the Department of Public Safety with skill and sensitivity and guided us through the yearlong implementation of peace officer status," says Senior Vice President for Human Services and Government Relations Eleanor Ware. "UNC is gaining an experienced and compassionate administrator."
Deputy Director Tony Callisto will serve as interim director and head the DPS leadership team that will comprise 15-year DPS veteran Capt. Drew Buske as interim deputy director and Assistant Director Donna Adams, who has been with the department 13 years. Callisto was named deputy director in late January; he has served as chief deputy sheriff in the Onondaga County Sheriff's Office.
Notes Ware: "Although newly hired, Tony has extensive law enforcement experience that, coupled with the knowledge and expertise of Drew and Donna, will ensure a seamless transition and continued effective management of day-to-day DPS operations until a search for a new director can be undertaken." Ware anticipates beginning the search process at the end of spring semester.
Hall was named director of SU's Department of Public Safety in December 2001. Previously, she was deputy chief of police for the LaVergne (Tenn.) Police Department (1998-2001) and head of the Crime Prevention Division of Vanderbilt University and Medical Center (1990-98), and held various positions of responsibility in the Vanderbilt University Police & Security Office (1979-90).
She holds a bachelor's degree in psychology from Vanderbilt and has completed numerous professional training academies and executive development programs.
Under her leadership, DPS has won several awards, including the national Jeanne Cleary Campus Safety Award (2004), Outstanding Employer recognition from Onondaga County Special Deputies (2004), and an SU Exemplary Achievement Award (2004) recognizing collaborative interdepartmental assistance for victims of sexual assault and relationship violence.
