The University of Michigan continues to search for a permanent head of the Division of Public Safety and Security, according to a school official.
U-M spokesman Rick Fitzgerald said the job for the executive director of the division (DPSS) has been posted and the university’s search committee is reviewing applicants. There’s no set time frame on when a permanent executive director will be hired.
U-M police Chief Joe Piersante is currently serving as the interim director of DPSS. The heads of the U-M Police, Hospital Security, Housing Security and Security departments will all report to the executive director of DPSS. The executive director will then report directly to the university president.
The new division was set up in response to the external investigation into the six-month reporting delay in the Stephen Jenson case in 2012. Jenson was accused of having child pornography on a thumb drive left in a computer at U-M Hospital.
It was six months between the time of the initial discovery of the thumb drive and child pornography and when the case was finally brought to police.
A nine-member committee is conducting the search for the executive director. Elizabeth Barry, the managing director of the Life Sciences Institute, is the chairwoman of the committee, which includes Ann Arbor police Chief John Seto.
Kyle Feldscher covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.