NEW CHIEF TO LEAD CAMPUS POLICE
Posted on August 9, 2010
Robert F. Downey, a 30-year law enforcement veteran, has
been hired as the new director and chief of University Police. Downey will begin his duties with Cal U's 18-member police
department on Aug. 16. A former lieutenant/commander with the Allegheny County
Police, he had been the director and chief of University Police at Slippery
Rock University since 2008. Downey has a master's degree in criminal justice from the
University of Cincinnati and a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from
LaRoche College. He is a 1980 graduate of the Allegheny County Police Training
Academy, a graduate of the FBI's National Academy, and a founding member of the
Pennsylvania Law Enforcement Athletic Association, the governing body for the
Pennsylvania Police Olympics. "I got excited about the position because I saw that Cal U,
under President Armenti's leadership, was willing to make a commitment to make
the police department the best it can possibly be," Downey said. "When I
visited the campus, I was very impressed with all the growth that is going on.
The campus has undergone such a transformation. It definitely is a centerpiece
for the region." Cal U's police force offers round-the-clock coverage of its
294-acre campus.
