August 18, 2005
[Note: Click here to download a high resolution photo of Marlon C. Lynch.]
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Marlon C. Lynch, chief and director of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte’s Police and Public Safety Department, has been named Vanderbilt University’s assistant police chief. He officially joins the university’s police force Aug. 22.
“As a fellow campus police chief, Marlon Lynch obviously has the extensive law enforcement and management experience that will make him an excellent addition to our team,” said Vanderbilt police chief Al Guyet.
Lynch, who holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in criminal justice and is a graduate of the FBI National Academy, was chosen after a national search conducted by an internal committee representing a cross-section of the university – including the Medical Center, and divisions of Student Life, Public Affairs and Administration. National search firm Wheless & Associates in Atlanta, Ga., also assisted in identifying potential applicants.
“As a sitting police chief, Marlon Lynch is highly qualified and I look forward to him playing an integral role both here on campus and in the surrounding community. We had an outstanding group of candidates, but in the end he emerged as the best choice,” said Lauren J. Brisky, Vanderbilt vice chancellor for administration and chief financial officer. The university’s Division of Administration oversees the Police Department.
Lynch said, “Vanderbilt’s prestigious reputation and the size of its Police Department – one of the largest campus police forces in the country – presented an exciting challenge and opportunity. I am looking forward to becoming a member of both the Vanderbilt and Nashville communities.”
As assistant chief, Lynch will oversee the department’s operations division, which includes more than 65 commissioned police officers. The Police Department provides law enforcement and crime prevention services for the Vanderbilt academic campus and the Medical Center, which includes approximately 6,200 undergraduates, 5,000 graduate and professional students, and about 18,500 faculty and staff.
The university’s commissioned officers are also empowered to make arrests as “Special Police Officers,” through the authority of the Chief of Police of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County. Vanderbilt officers with Special Police Commissions have the same authority as that of a municipal law enforcement officer, while on property owned by Vanderbilt, on adjacent public streets and sidewalks and nearby neighborhoods.
“We are extremely pleased that Marlon Lynch has decided to join our Police Department. He possesses the skills, abilities and experience to be very successful in this challenging role. He is a proven leader who will work well with our faculty, students and staff,” said Nimalan Chinniah, deputy vice chancellor for administration and academic affairs.
A graduate of Michigan State University with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, Lynch began his law enforcement career as a police officer with the Meridian Township Police Department in Okemos, Mich. He later served as a lieutenant with the Southern Methodist University Police Department in Dallas, Texas, before moving on to positions as assistant director of the Davidson College Department of Public Safety in Davidson, N.C., major/deputy director with the UNC Charlotte Police and Public Safety Department, and chief/assistant vice chancellor for Public Safety at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro, N.C.
He has been chief at UNC Charlotte since August 2004, where he commanded a department of 55, which includes 40 police officers. Lynch earned a master’s degree in criminal justice from Boston University in Boston, Mass., this spring.
For more news about Vanderbilt, visit the News Service homepage at www.vanderbilt.edu/news.
Media Contact: Princine Lewis, 615-322-NEWS
princine.l.lewis@vanderbilt.edu