Indiana University Northwest announced today, Wednesday, May 30, the appointment of Patricia Nowak to the post of campus Chief of Police, effective July 2.

Nowak, who will be the first female Police Chief at any Indiana University campus, will be responsible for 12 sworn officers, as well as a team of personnel including several dispatchers. As head of the IU Northwest Police Department, Nowak will provide leadership, direction and oversight for all campus enforcement functions. She will serve on various university, local and state law enforcement committees and serve as a liaison between the campus department and local municipal agencies and courts, while building partnerships with other jurisdictions.

Nowak will also plan for and train her staff to respond to major campus crisis events and incidents through her role on the campus’s crisis management team.

Nowak comes to IU Northwest with 30 years of experience in law enforcement, the majority of which has been with the City of East Lansing (Mich.). In her roles with the City of East Lansing, she has supervisorial experience in several areas of policing, including patrol, narcotic enforcement, criminal investigation, emergency management, jail operations, and records management, among others.

The change in leadership comes after the campus’s former Police Chief, Denson Chatfield, resigned in January 2012. Lieutenant Edward Davies has served as interim Police Chief since Chatfield’s resignation.

“We are fortunate that Lt. Davies was willing to provide departmental leadership during the interim period, and we thank Ed for his assistance and appreciate all that he has done over the last months as interim Chief,” said Vice Chancellor for Administration Joe Pellicciotti. “As a campus, we look forward to welcoming Chief Nowak, who has significant law enforcement experience and is well-positioned to lead and continue to uphold IU Northwest’s commitment to high-quality, professional campus policing.”

For almost four years, Nowak has also served as a facilitator/instructor for Michigan State University’s Executive Law Enforcement Staff and Command. The Staff and Command concentrates on the problem-based learning model to teach police executives how to problem solve more effectively.

“Chief Nowak brings a wealth of knowledge to the IU Police Department from her involvement in numerous areas of law enforcement and crime prevention,” said Jerry Minger, Director of Public Safety at IU Bloomington.  “I believe I speak for more than 130 IUPD officers when I say that we look forward to Chief Nowak working with our law enforcement team to enhance the safety and security of our communities.”

As a longtime Michigan resident, Nowak holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and psychology, a master’s degree in criminal justice, and a master’s degree in social work, all from Michigan State University.

The campus is currently planning an official swearing-in ceremony for Nowak in July. Details are forthcoming.