Public Safety 7/28 at

Out of 43 applications from across the nation, three candidates are still in the running for SIUC director of public safety.

The chosen candidate will replace Samuel L. Jordan, who retired last December. Jordan held the position for 11 years and Lt. Kay W. Doan is currently serving as interim director.

The three candidates for the position are SIUC Police Capt. Todd Sigler, Wheaton College Public Safety Director Jeoffrey P. Jenkins and Governor’s State University Police Chief Albert D. Chesser Jr.

Each candidate has one day on campus to meet with faculty and staff to complete interviews. The three candidates have nine different appointments to interview with various faculty and staff and answer any questions.

According to Robert York, SIUC executive director of Human Relations and Support, the selection process for the candidates involved a nationwide search. A screening committee composed of constituency groups, SIUC faculty and a representative from the Carbondale Police Department looked at each application, resume and the qualifications of each candidate.

“It was a pretty diverse committee, ” York said. “They evaluated all of the applications based on the criteria that we set, identified those that they felt were the most qualified, and the three that they determined to be the most qualified were the ones we invited.”

Each person from different SIUC departments was invited to each forum to meet with the candidates and to assess the candidate and make recommendations.

“Each of those [recommendations] will be read and considered and then there will be a recommendation made for hire very soon,” York said.

York will be retiring Friday. Kathy Hagler, SIUC’s executive director of Facilities and Business, will then be supervising the police department.

“Hagler is the executive director to whom the police department will report in the future, so she and I will consult on the recommendation,” York said. “Ultimately, the decision to hire will be ours and of course [SIUC Chancellor Walter Wendler] also always has the last word. He will either accept or reject our recommendation as he chooses.”

Each candidate was given a day to meet with faculty and staff and hold a one-hour open forum to talk about their qualifications and goals and to answer questions from an audience.

Jenkins’ experience dates back to 1972 when he became a patrol officer in Elk Grove. He served as patrol supervisor for the department for nine years. Jenkins became chief of public safety for Wheaton College in 1998.

His educational background includes a bachelor’s degree in management and a master’s degree in business administration from California Coast University in Santa Ana, Calif..

Chesser became involved with law enforcement in 1975 when he was a trooper for the Illinois State Police. He also worked as a personnel investigator and internal affairs investigator with the Chicago Police Department. Chesser also served as police chief at Chicago State University from 1990 to 1999. He is currently chief of Police and Public Safety Department at Governor’s State University, where he has served since 1999.

Chesser’s educational background includes a bachelor’s degree in marketing and business administration from Eastern Illinois University. He received his master’s in public administration from Roosevelt University in Chicago and a master’s in criminal justice from Lewis University in Romeoville.

Sigler, who is currently captain of the SIUC Department of Public Safety, began his career in 1979 as a member of the Saluki Patrol. He eventually became a full-time employee and went on to work for two years as an investigator with the Illinois Secretary of State Police.

In 1991, Sigler became a corporal, then a sergeant in 1993 and a lieutenant in 2002. Sigler also became captain and commander of the Uniformed Patrol Division and Organization Development and Support Services in 2003.

Siglar’s educational experience includes a bachelor’s degree in administration of justice and a master’s degree in public affairs, both obtained at SIUC. Sigler is currently a doctoral candidate in educational administration and higher education at SIUC.