COLUMBUS, Ohio – Vernon Baisden, The Ohio State University Department of Public Safety Director and Assistant Vice President, will retire April 15, 2016, capping off a 15-year career at Ohio State.
“Ohio State has a very dedicated and professional police, security and emergency management staff,” Baisden said. “Our team works tirelessly every day to enhance the safety of the campus community, and I was fortunate to have had the opportunity to work alongside them for the last 15-plus years.”
Baisden has spent more than 30 years in the public safety profession and was hired by Ohio State on August 14, 2000. Prior to coming to Columbus, he served as the director of campus safety at Keene State College in Keene, New Hampshire for six years. Earlier in his career, he served as commanding officer in the University of Michigan Department of Public Safety’s Community Relations and Crime Prevention Unit.
“Vernon has made a positive impact at Ohio State and accomplished many things during his tenure,” said Jay Kasey, senior vice president for Ohio State’s Office of Administration and Planning. “We wish him success in his future endeavors and appreciate the passion and commitment he exhibited.”
During his time at Ohio State, Baisden helped reestablish the Department of Public Safety, which had been disbanded in 1993. He oversaw the creation of the Emergency Management and Fire Prevention division as well as Communications and Central Alarm Center division.
In 2009 and 2010, these rebuilding efforts were recognized by Security Magazine, which named Ohio State’s Department of Public Safety as the second-best operation among all universities and colleges in the country.
Additional Department of Public Safety accomplishment’s during Baisden’s tenure as director include:
- Construction of a new communications center
- OSU Police accreditation by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA)
- Expansion of police presence to regional campuses
- Implementation of the university’s Buckeye Alert emergency notification system
- Consolidation of Wexner Medical Center security into the Department of Public Safety
- Successful response and recovery during the 2010 Wooster campus tornado
- Establishment of the OSUPD and CPD joint patrol and crime interdiction initiatives in the University District and east of High Street
A national search for Baisden’s permanent replacement is already underway. During the search, the Department of Public Safety will report to Mark Evans, Associate Vice President for the Office of Administration and Planning.