Michigan State University's Department of Police and Public Safety is restructuring the school's public safety functions with a change in leadership.
Campus police announced at a Tuesday press conference that Marlon Lynch will relinquish his role as MSU police chief. He’ll retain his status as a vice president for public safety and add the duties of chief safety officer.
In his new role, Lynch will lead efforts to centralize security systems both on campus and at the university’s health college facilities outside of East Lansing.
The decision to separate the role of chief safety officer and chief of police has been more than a year in the making. But Lynch said the deadly February 13 campus shooting sped up the process.
“Being able to see the importance of coordinated response; wanting to have that same level of attention for police and public safety not just in East Lansing, but wherever MSU has a presence,” Lynch said.
Interim Deputy Chief Chris Rozman will be promoted to MSU Chief of Police. Rozman provided multiple updates to the community on the night of the shooting and in the following days.
He said he’ll strive to support his officers each day as an “on the ground” leader.
“Our people are our most valuable asset, and we saw that on (February) 13 when they, without hesitation, heroically responded to a violent act,” Rozman said.
Rozman’s appointment as police chief is effective March 20. Lynch’s appointment is expected to be formalized at the next MSU Board of Trustees meeting on April 21.
Earlier this week, MSU instituted a new policy of requiring keycard access to campus buildings in the evenings.
Lynch said buildings would be restricted to Spartan ID card access only Monday through Friday from 6 p.m. to 7:30 a.m., adding that those buildings would be closed “24/7” on the weekends.
There’s also a call in the Michigan House for a permanent fund to help colleges and universities upgrade and maintain campus security systems.