For immediate release: November 15, 2002

Contact: Lauren Robinson-Brown (609) 258-3601, lauren@princeton.edu
Editors: A photograph is available at: http://www.princeton.edu/pr/pictures/g-k/healy,steven/

Steven Healy named director of public safety

PRINCETON, N.J. -- Steven Healy, chief of police at Wellesley College, has been named director of public safety at Princeton University.

Healy, who has worked in law enforcement for 18 years, will replace Jerrold Witsil, who retired Oct. 31 after 27 years as director of public safety.

Healy's appointment is effective Jan. 1, 2003. Donald Reichling, a 23-year member of the public safety staff, will serve as acting director until then.

The chief of police at Wellesley since 1999, Healy has been responsible for the day-to-day and strategic operations of a 20-member staff. From 1995 to 1999, he was associate director of public safety at Syracuse University, managing the daily operations of a 60-member staff.

"Steven Healy is an outstanding public safety executive," said Charles Kalmbach, senior vice president for administration, to whom Healy will report. "His personal qualities of integrity, dedication and teamwork are consistently cited by his past and present colleagues. Furthermore, during his entire career he has interacted effectively and imaginatively with young people and seasoned professionals -- in the Air Force and in two academic environments. He was the unanimous choice of the advisory committee, and I am looking forward with great anticipation to his joining the administration."

"We also want to take this opportunity to thank Jerry Witsil for his service to the University," Kalmbach added. "In the more than 27 years that Jerry has led our public safety department, the role of the department has become increasingly more complex and critical to the well-being of our campus. Jerry met these challenges with imagination, enthusiasm and professionalism. We wish him well in his retirement."

"We also are grateful to Don Reichling for his willingness to add yet another responsibility to his already full agenda," he said.

A graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, Healy began his career in law enforcement as a watch commander at Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany from 1984 to 1987. For the next two years, he worked as a project officer at the base, developing security regulations and policies for all Air Force units in Europe.

Healy was promoted to chief of police at Noervenich German Air Base in 1989. He managed the operations of a 65-person law enforcement and physical security division. He returned to the United States in 1992 to serve as deputy chief of police of a 170-person division at Edwards Air Force Base in California, a position he held until joining the Syracuse staff.

"I'm extremely happy to have this opportunity to join the Princeton University family," Healy said. "From the first time I came to campus and met with members of the community, it was clear to me that I wanted to be a part of this great University. President (Shirley M.) Tilghman has made it clear that she wants to enhance the University's efforts in making Princeton a great place to learn and work. Public safety, obviously, is an integral part of that endeavor.

"I look forward to working with Senior Vice President Kalmbach in his efforts to provide the best possible administrative services to the University," he continued. "The Department of Public Safety has always had a reputation as an innovative, forward-thinking department, dedicated to service. I hope to enhance that tradition by continuing to improve our ability to provide world-class services to every member of the community. Our community, and especially our students, deserve nothing but the best public safety."

Healy has been president of the Massachusetts Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators and a regional director of the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators. He has made presentations at professional association conferences on topics such as complying with the Clery Act and reducing liability in higher education.

The Princeton Department of Public Safety consists of about 60 professionally trained personnel who patrol the campus 24 hours a day. University uniformed public safety officers as well as proctors, who are not in uniform, are primarily responsible for building security and enforcement of parking and traffic regulations. Designated staff members have the authority of commissioned police officers with full power of arrest and are required to complete a rigorous basic police officer training program. The campus falls under the jurisdiction of several police agencies whose services the Department of Public Safety supplements rather than replaces.