After nearly 27 years of policing with the Ohio State University, David Rose became the new Director of Campus Safety here at Denison Jan. 11.
Rose said he is committed to making campus a safe and enjoyable place to be. In an email to students composed Feb. 9, Rose emphasized the need for “community” between students and safety officers.
“I believe in a comprehensive, or all-hazards, approach to campus safety… We will use community policing as our guiding philosophy,” he said. “This means we will work to build relationships with community members to establish dialogue and trust, and we will focus on preventing anything that poses a public safety risk.”
“I’m a big believer in relationship building,” Rose emphasized. “I want to get to know as many students as I can.”
Living through a pandemic during college creates many challenges, especially with the many new rules that are imposed and enforced. Rose said he understands that during this time it is difficult to find normalcy, and that he empathizes with students who yearn for interactions that may be against community guidelines. He also noted the recent uptick in complaints with his department, and described how his team will work together to benefit the community in accordance with the desire for change in policing.
“You have my commitment that I believe deeply in leading a Campus Safety team that values, honors and respects all members of the campus community,” he said. “Though we are tasked with law enforcement, please know that our officers are committed to objective, professional and consistent performance of their duties with student success as their end goal.”
When asked about how he plans to make sure that students of all backgrounds will receive equal treatment from campus safety, Rose said: “I can just tell you that my expectation now is that enforcement has to be reasonable, professional and consistent. I’ve been impressed with the staff that are here. They’ve expressed a real desire to engage with the students here and to be perceived as fair. If there are complaints then we will take those seriously.”
Aside from his new position with Campus Safety, Rose is a husband, father and former student at OSU. Rose began his career of helping others as a paramedic and volunteer firefighter—He said that occupying these titles will help him approach solving problems and making decisions. He noted that he is always willing to chat with students and be involved with campus, such as greeting students during first-year Friday at the campus safety office.
“Despite the challenges we face, I look forward to the coming semester with optimism,” he said. “I am so happy and honored to be a Denisonian!”