Keene State College has selected a new Campus Safety Director, according to a press release sent out earlier this week from KSC Interim President Melinda Treadwell. Current Title IX Coordinator Jeffrey Maher will be joining the Campus Safety staff as the Director of Campus Safety and Compliance.
Maher said he first came to Keene State College in August of 2015, when he was hired as the Title IX Coordinator. As Title IX Coordinator, Maher said he deals with sexual misconduct, sexual violence and gender inequities.
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He said he had seen the position posted for Campus Safety Director and was approached to see if he had any interest. Maher said after several conversations, it was determined he was the appropriate person for the position.
While Maher will be taking on the position of Campus Safety Director, he said he will still be working as Title IX Coordinator as well.
“I will retain responsibilities as Title IX Coordinator, as well as being the Campus Safety Director. I hope to post a position in the near future to help with the responsibilities.”
Maher said in the first month on the job, his main goal is to listen to what issues are occurring on campus, whether it involves parking, physical security, environmental design or other issues.
KSC Assistant Director of Campus Safety Leonard Crossman said he is glad that someone internal within the KSC community was selected for the position. “It is a big sigh of relief knowing that Jeff will be our director. We know him already and know that he is comfortable here. He already knows the culture. He will pick up the job quickly. He is a very intelligent guy,” Crossman said.
Crossman added that Maher is coming into the position with a good staff in place.
“We are glad to finally have him as the piece to put the puzzle together. We have stability on our end and effective policies. He is coming in with a full staff who knows what they are doing,” Crossman said.
The position for Campus Safety Director first opened in February, when the Former Campus Safety Director Amanda Guthorn left for a position at Lasell College.
For the next eight months, Campus Safety had an Interim Director, Barbara O’Connor. Once O’Connor left at the end of the summer, Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management Kemal Atkins took over temporarily. With Jeff Maher now as director, Crossman said there is now a permanent solution.
Maher said he has a lot of experience in the law enforcement field. “I’ve spent about half of my career investigating sex crimes. Prior to becoming the Title IX Coordinator, I was a police officer for 21 years. I was also a detective,” Maher said.
Maher completed detective work for the Nashua Police Department, according to his LinkedIn profile.
In the recent press release from Treadwell, she said his previous work is an important reason he was the appropriate person for the role.
“Jeff’s background and experience is very well-suited for this expanded role, and he brings diverse and rich knowledge in the field of law enforcement to this position,” Treadwell stated.
Students, similarly to staff, feel as though it is important to have a good Campus Safety Director.
KSC sophomore Jacob Cunningham lives on campus and said Campus Safety is important for students. “[Campus Safety] makes sure that the college is a safe place. A lot of bad stuff could happen and having them is a big plus. They impact not only the school, but also the community.”
One part of being the Campus Safety Director that Maher said he wants to put as a high priority is the service focus. “Our offices are here to ensure safety, and therefore the first response to any call should be, ‘How can I help you?’”
Colby Dudal can be contacted at cdudal@kscequinox.com
