Christopher Grant was selected for the position of associate director of Campus Safety, according to a school-wide email from Campus Safety sent March 20. According to the job announcement, the associate director of Campus Safety is expected to report to the director of Campus Safety on matters of developing, implementing and overseeing general security operations at the college.
According to the March 20 email, Grant joins Campus Safety with years of law enforcement and public service experience, as well as knowledge of safety and security issues specific to higher education and college campuses.
“I previously worked nearly two decades in law enforcement in a variety of operational, administrative and community engagement assignments,” Grant said via email. “Prior to law enforcement, I taught high school.”
According to Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students Vivian Santiago, the college considers campus safety a high-priority issue, and strong leadership in Campus Safety is essential to meeting these priorities.
“Since last summer, when Stacy Spell was promoted to Director, we have prioritized filling the associate director role to strengthen Campus Safety’s leadership team,” Santiago said via email. “Christopher Grant’s hiring marks an important step forward, enabling the department to expand strategic planning and implement key enhancements, including improved officer training, strengthened emergency response protocols and modernization of administrative systems.”
Santiago said the college believes efforts in recruiting leadership for Campus Safety will bear positive impacts.
“The college takes the safety and security of our campus community very seriously,” Santiago said via email.
According to Campus Safety Director Stacy Spell, filling the associate director position was a top priority for Campus Safety and a measure supported by the college.
“[The college] understands Maslow’s hierarchy of needs,” Spell said. “If you don’t have basic safety, then we can’t get on to more philosophical endeavors without providing the service that [Campus Safety] wants to.”
While Campus Safety values the experiences potential candidates have, they also look at personality fit, Spell said.
“When I hire people at the officer level, one of the things that I tell people is this is less of a difficult security job and more of a customer service job,” Spell said. “You’re looking for people that interact well with students, faculty, staff, have a cool temperament and don’t get flustered easily.”
Spell said the hiring process was selective and Grant was a strong fit. Grant previously worked for Azusa Pacific University and his dual experiences with university safety and policing made him a strong candidate, Spell said.
“Oxy is a special place and you need more than law enforcement experience,” Spell said. “I love that he prioritizes contact with students, faculty and staff, knowing that sometimes we have limited time. I think that comes from the heart.”
Spell said Campus Safety has been busy implementing security changes in the wake of current events.
“[Campus Safety] looks at what other higher learning institutions are doing, what are their best practices, and then what fits for us, because with a student population of less than 2000 people, we don’t anticipate to model UCLA’s approach,” Spell said. “There’s a strong look at [security] cameras, for example, and how we balance that with not coming across as surveillance [or] an organization that’s looking at people to see them on their worst day.”
Grant said coming to Occidental marks his return to the SCIAC community. Grant attended the University of Redlands for his undergraduate degree and said baseball was an important experience for his character development.
“I had played baseball since I was a child, so that really helped build the foundation for working hard, dedication, discipline, being a good teammate and person, working through challenges good and bad while continuing to persevere through it all,” Grant said via email.
Grant said his career experiences have been all about helping others and making positive impacts on communities.
“My first week with the Occidental community has been amazing and very welcoming. I am very thankful for the kind welcome that I have received,” Grant said via email. “I look forward to the increased engagement with our Occidental community and collaboratively working together to enhance safety with our community.”
Contact Vivian Pei at vpei@oxy.edu
