Boston University announced a search committee on April 7 to find a new chief of the Boston University Police Department after the University promoted current Police Chief Kelly Nee to the new position of Chief Safety, Security and Preparedness Officer.
Senior Vice President for Operations Derek Howe informed the BU community on Feb. 28 about Nee’s promotion and that the University began a search for a new chief of BUPD, according to the April announcement.
Nee wrote in an email that she has been working in both roles since Jan. 1 and hopes the committee will announce a new chief by early July.
“I am incredibly honored to have been elevated to this new position and for the faith that SVP Howe and Executive Leadership has placed in me,” Nee wrote. “No leader ascends in a vacuum and I am equally proud of the confidence the university has placed in the personnel of BUPD, Medical Campus Public Safety and Emergency Management.”
Nee is the chair of the BU comprised search committee that is partnering with the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF), a nonprofit police research and policy organization, in the vetting process for a new chief, according to Howe’s email announcement.
The deadline to apply for BUPD Chief of Police was April 20 and the search committee is waiting for PERF’s recommendations to establish the applicant pool, Nee wrote in an email.
Search committee members were selected based on their “various roles and perspectives, current interaction with BUPD members and their ongoing dedication in creating a diverse and dynamic workforce,” the announcement said.
The committee hopes to choose eight to 10 chief candidates for the first round of interviews. From there, three to four finalists will come to campus to meet with the committee in person and then final candidates will meet with Howe for an introduction with BU’s President, Nee wrote.
Nee has been the chief of BUPD since 2017, after previously working at Boston Police Department for over 30 years.
In her new position, Nee hopes to ensure coordination between direct reports of BUPD, Medical Campus Public Safety, NEIDL Public Safety and Emergency Management as well as focus on emergency communication, she wrote.
“It will be my responsibility to think strategically during an incident to identify who needs to be informed and how we are communicating to the broader community,” she wrote. “I believe we can improve in this area as we introduce the goal of elevating the role of emergency management and preparedness at Boston University to bring our processes in line with national standards and current best practices.”
BU Spokesperson Colin Riley said the University created Nee’s new position of chief safety, security and preparedness officer to be proactive and reactive in addressing emergencies on campus.
“In a world where there’s potential issues in an urban environment on a college campus which has a unique population of predominantly young people, you want that particular area of expertise,” Riley said. “[Nee] brought 30 plus years of experience as a Boston Police Senior Officer with her when she came here.”
Nee wrote that she hopes the new chief of police will continue BUPD’s current progress of making the department more “reflective” and “welcoming” to all law enforcement professionals.
“I hope the new chief is committed to taking the department to new levels of community engagement, while balancing the wide array of expectations from our diverse community,” she wrote.
Howe launched an engagement survey around the Feb. 28 announcement to find out the “qualification and characteristics” the BU community wanted in the new chief, according to the announcement.
Based on the survey the most common themes for the chief are, “emphasize community and transparency with an unwavering commitment to accountability, ensure a culture of equity, inclusion and respect both within the department and when engaging with its constituents, elevate preparedness in addition to focusing on safety and security, provide awareness to the history of policing and apply skills and knowledge to serve an urban campus,” the announcement said.
Makaila Banks, a student in the Boston University Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, said she hopes the new chief will be a strong and community oriented leader.
“[The new chief should be] open to hearing students’ concerns, assertive in making sure that people who work under [them are] actually also doing their job,” she said.
The search for a new chief comes after the University faced a number of incidents, including a death at StuVi II on Feb. 15 and a hoax swatting at the College of Fine Arts on April 9.
Banks said she feels pretty neutral about safety on campus right now. “I feel pretty safe actually,” Banks said.
Lilli Aferzon, a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences, said she does feel safe on campus even with these incidents.
“I think that the entire culture in America in general has gotten unsafe,” Aferzon said. “I appreciate that they send messages and then they call … I don’t think it’s a BUPD thing as much as it’s a cultural thing nowadays so I think they’re doing their job.”
BU is also in the process of looking for a new president and dean of students, but Riley said new leadership in these positions and in chief of BUPD will have a “very positive impact” on students.
“You’ll have people who are fresh in those positions, having new perspectives,” he said. “The University has a strategic plan that the president and provost have put in place and worked very closely with the entire University community in developing and will sustain the full width, the momentum, and stay on the right vector as they continue.”
