Doug Tripp is the director of the University’s Department of Public Safety. He has held that position since March 9, when he replaced Kevin Williams. Tripp had been the associate director at the University since 2007, prior to the leadership change.
ODE: You’re new to your position. How long have you been in the permanent position versus the interim?
DT: I assumed the permanent position as of the 25th of last month.
ODE: As far as that situation goes, how were you notified of your promotion and what did the University say the justification of that leadership change was?
DT: First of all, the University doesn’t have to justify to me why they made any change within the department. I was approached by Vice President (of Finance and Administration Frances) Dyke and advised I’d be assuming the interim role and after evaluation over several days, it was determined I would then be offered a regular role as Director of Public Safety following a formal internal process to advise the community of that decision and providing the opportunity to comment on that decision. Once that was complete, I was formally identified as the director of DPS.
ODE: Was that announcement from Frances Dyke a surprise to you? When she came to you and said you’re going to be our new interim director?
DT: Oh, absolutely. This happened very quickly and again, the decision-making that was occurring was well beyond the departmental level. And we were advised once that decision was made.
ODE: How have the officers and staff done with that moving-forward process?
DT: I think in general the department has accepted this change in a very positive way. The people that were responsible for the day-to-day operations of the department are all here, the same people that have been working as a team for 18 months. We’ve been able to continue moving forward because that core team was still in place.
ODE: Have you spoken with Kevin Williams since the change?
DT: Sure. Kevin and I have always had a very professional and cordial relationship since the day we met.
ODE: How is he handling it?
DT: I really can’t speak on that. I think that’s something you should speak directly to him on.
ODE: How are you planning on coping with budget cuts? (which were announced Monday)
DT: We’re going to try to identify cross-functional, collaborative approaches that look to share expertise and resources; that’s both within the University and outside the University. And I’m going to expect accountability amongst our staff to ensure that we stay on budget, yet still focus in on core competencies.
ODE: Do you have any plans for addressing the parking problem on campus?
DT: Absolutely. Parking is a limited resource, and as a limited resource, we need to manage it in an effective manner. So, we need to evaluate how we’re managing parking and ensure the way we’re managing it ensures as much availability of parking on campus as possible within the confines of our limited resources.
ODE: Has there been any talk about limiting faculty and administration parking?
DT: Everything’s on the table. We’re evaluating every option to address parking and parking situations here on campus. We have some limitations of what we can do because we have agreements with the city and others of what type of parking we have to provide here on campus, but in addition, we have a lot of flexibility to develop these multi-modal programs to address how we get people to campus and that’s what our focal point will be.
ODE: Are you in support of Tasers for DPS officers?
DT: There are currently no discussions on Tasers for our public safety officers.
ODE: Do you personally have any thoughts on it?
DT: My thought in general regarding Tasers or other equipment is that it requires good training, well-thought-out discussion and development of policies and procedures to guide the officer. We’re here to protect the campus community. Ensuring we have what we need is important.
ODE: Do we have the funds to provide additional training?
DT: Stepping back a bit, training is a critical component in preparing our officers to conduct themselves in the field. Their ability to ensure protection of the campus is affected, so we have made every effort to identify every opportunity for training. With that said, there are things we are continuing to work on to develop. Some of the obstacles include access to training provided by the state.
[email protected]
Q & A with Doug Tripp
Daily Emerald
April 6, 2009
0
More to Discover