11/07/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 11/07/2024 15:52
Two longtime officers assume the helm of Transylvania University's Department of Public Safety on Friday.
Robert Gowdy, a department veteran of 37 years, becomes interim chief and director public safety; and Randall Lamb, who began 22 years ago, will serve as interim assistant chief. After leading the department for the past four years, Joe McClure has accepted a role as a Virginia State Parks ranger and manager with Wilderness Road.
The university expects to hire a new chief by May of next year.
"I want the campus community to know they are in capable and safe hands," McClure said, noting their many years of service to the school.
Gowdy, who became DPS's first-ever assistant chief this past spring, stressed how he wants to continue what McClure has been working on, and "make sure we find the right type of replacement for his position."
He said this would be someone who, like McClure, works well in a campus environment - a leader who's intelligent, professional and good with a variety of people.
"I would want our personnel to treat people as they would want to be treated themselves," Gowdy said.
He noted how the department's top priority is providing a safe environment to live and learn in - while the students can also have fun in a responsible way.
Gowdy encourages the campus community to reach out via email, or stop by the office on Fourth Street if they've got a concern.
As with Gowdy, Lamb stressed maintaining the department's continuity through the transition. "We'd like to keep everything the same as Chief's had it," he said.
Lamb, who's been serving as lieutenant, came to Transylvania after working at the Fayette County Detention Center for two years. He noted the comradeship at DPS, how the officers fit in with each other and work together. "That's really what's kept me here."
He also wants students, faculty and staff to know they can come to an officer if they have issues. "We've got an open door."
During McClure's tenure, which began working with campus leaders during the pandemic, the department appointed the first first female supervisor and supervisors of color. "My goal was to make our department look more like the community that we served," McClure said. "This meant making an effort to recruit and hire female officers, officers of color and officers who represented the LGTBQ community."
Also during that time, McClure, Gowdy and Lamb received the FBI-Law Enforcement Executive Development Association Trilogy Award.
McClure, who said it's been an honor to have served the university, noted how his department's new leadership will "carry on the values that we have put forth over these last several years."
He also looked ahead to his new role. "I will oversee all daily operations of one of Virginia's premier historical parks located in beautiful Powell Valley near the historic Cumberland Gap. I began my public service career with Kentucky State Parks before transitioning into mainstream law enforcement. The opportunity to return to work in the natural and cultural resources community is like a homecoming."