New Chief of Public Safety Matthew Rushton and Vice President for Campus Operations Lois Stanley recently updated The Brandeis Hoot on progress made towards Public Safety. Having gathered community feedback on improvements to Public Safety via the Re-Imagining Public Safety report and community surveys, Brandeis now welcomes Rushton to lead these efforts.
As the former Assistant Chief of Police at Bridgewater State University, Rushton listed his past roles as a campus police officer, Police Lieutenant and in policy development concerning bias free policing methods.
While he was not intending to leave his position at Bridgewater State, the “very specific requirements that Brandeis was looking for in a new leader…really described [him] as a person,” and he therefore felt compelled to apply, he told The Hoot.
The input regarding improvements for Public Safety from Black Action Plan student leaders and Brandeis faculty, students, and staff will inform the new goals for the office in the near future. Rushton felt that his experience at Bridgewater State would make him a really “a really good fit for Brandeis to help guide [Brandeis University] through that process of change,” he says.
The Reimagining Public Safety report also “strongly recommended a strategic plan for a community wide definition of what Public Safety’s role is at Brandeis University,” Stanley says. She explains that Rushton’s expertise in strategic planning was “one of the reasons he was at the top of the list” when recruiting for the open position.
Now approaching a month into the position, Rushton described his enthusiasm for getting to know the Brandeis student community over the summer as well as in the future. In the spirit of Public Safety’s goal to better integrate with the Brandeis community, Rushton explains the need to “try to find opportunities where students … want Public Safety present,” he says.
Additionally, Stanley and Rushton describe the strategic collaboration of Public Safety with other organizations on campus such as the Department of Community Living (DCL), the Brandeis Emergency Medical Corps (BEMCo) and transportation services in order to provide an appropriate response to diverse student needs. Rushton also discusses staff trainings underway, saying, “our own staff will continue to look at de-escalation training techniques” in hopes of seeing campus officers “as a resource.”
Rushton emphasizes the importance of ongoing conversation between the community and Public Safety, saying, “My strategy since I’ve been here has been…listening [to] really get my own sense of how students, faculty and staff do Public Safety, and what we can do to improve our relationships.” Additionally, Stanley discusses the creation of the Campus Safety Committee, explaining the importance of bridging Public Safety with community input.
A new space that Rushton plans Public Safety to engage in is “non-enforcement roles” in order to build trust between the student body and Public Safety. For example, Rushton described participating in a fun game of volleyball with Brandeis Community Advisors this summer. Additionally, Rushton and the Public Safety staff will be helping students move in during the following week and hosting a movie event with complimentary candy.
Rushton strongly encourages students to reach out to him via social media platforms such as Facebook and follow the Public Safety page to stay updated on upcoming events. He also encourages students to follow the BranVan Instagram page to learn about new developments in transportation.
“I’m hoping to post content like that so that students can see us in another light outside of just the uniform,” Rushton says about sharing recreational community engagement events.
Stanley echoes Rushton’s request for students to reach out, saying, “We found through the Re-Imagining Public Safety report process that Public Safety feels that they exist on the edge of the campus community …. We want to get our Public Safety integrated in the community. It’s good for Public Safety, and it’s good for the community.”
