Contact: Sammy McDavid
The police chief at a West Virginia university is the new head of Mississippi State's public safety and law enforcement operations.
Thomas C. Johnson, head of the Marshall University Public Safety Office since 1995, assumes his new duties on the Starkville campus Oct. 1. The Pensacola, Fla., native succeeds department veteran John C. Moore, who retired during the summer.
Roy Ruby, vice president for student affairs, said his division's search for a new police chief attracted a number of highly qualified candidates.
"Consistently, Chief Tom Johnson was cited as the top choice by various campus community representatives who met and talked with each candidate," Ruby said. "He is a 22-year law enforcement veteran whose department at Marshall is almost identical to ours in its operation and scope of service.
"These factors, plus the many 'people skills' he demonstrated during his campus visit, led us to decide that Tom would be the best person for Mississippi State."
At the Huntington, W.Va., public institution, the police department serves a campus community of 14,000 with a full-time staff of 36, plus six contract and 40 volunteer employees.
Mississippi State's police chief supervises a staff of 37, including uniformed officers, plainclothes investigators, dispatchers, parking enforcement personnel, and a clerical staff.
Johnson holds a bachelor's degree, with highest honors, in law enforcement from Troy (Ala.) State University and a master's in psychology from the University of West Florida in Pensacola. He also graduated from Pensacola Junior College.
Before moving to Marshall, he was a lieutenant in the UWF Police Department. His career began in 1975 with the Pensacola Police Department, followed by service as a senior investigator with Aegis Service Corp. in Houston, Texas, and as a sergeant with the Gulf Breeze (Fla.) Police Department.
Johnson holds a medal for bravery and an award for investigative excellence.
Formal approval of his appointment is expected at a future meeting of the Board of Trustees, Institutions of Higher Learning.