Wednesday through Friday, the University at Buffalo is hosting a series of public forums to give the university community and general public a chance to meet the three finalists under consideration to become UB's new police chief.
The candidates are being introduced one by one, one day at a time, with each facing the public in three sessions. The sessions, each day, are scheduled at 7 a.m., 3:45 p.m. and 5 p.m. in 128 Bissell Hall on UB's North Campus.
"We're providing different time slots to make sure that as many members of the university community and some of our community stakeholders can find a time and come to campus to greet our candidates, ask some questions, find out more about them and assess their ability to lead our university police department," said UB spokesperson John Della Contrada.
The person ultimately chosen will lead a force of 65 officers and is replacing Gerald Schoenle, Jr., who retired last January after leading the department for 12 years.
Della Contrada would not release the names of the candidates, saying they will remain confidential until each candidate has been publicly introduced through the forums. He would say that the search, which began after Schoenle's retirement, was nationwide.
"We're looking for a new leader who can help the university implement community policing practices and continue our efforts to have community policing practices on our campuses, engage members of our community and embody the values of the university as they perform their duties and help keep the campus safe," he said.
University officials are looking to hire the new chief and have him or her in place for the spring semester.
