The University of Michigan plans to have a job posting ready for the head of the new Division of Public Safety and Security finished by the end of January, officials said Thursday.
University of Michigan Police Chief Joe Piersante is currently both the police chief and the interim director of the division.
Joe Piersante
“I’ve learned long ago to never put a time frame on hiring because there are all kinds of things that can happen,” he said.
The new Division of Public Safety and Security was set up in the wake of an external investigation into the Stephen Jenson scandal that rocked the university last year.
Jenson was accused of having child pornography on a thumb drive left in a laptop at the University of Michigan Hospital. Despite the fact a hospital employee discovered the suspected child porn and reported it to her superiors, it was six months before the university notified police.
Under the new division, university police, Hospital Security, Housing Security and Security departments are all in the same department and would report to the executive director.
Once the new executive director is hired, Piersante will continue in his role as police chief and report to the director, Fitzgerald said. The executive director will report directly to university President Mary Sue Coleman.
A nine-member committee has been set up to assist Coleman in the search for a new executive director and is chaired by Elizabeth Barry, the managing director of the Life Sciences Institute. Ann Arbor police Chief John Seto is among the other eight members.
Kyle Feldscher covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.