Jeff Palmer will step in as the next director of Campus Safety Services (CSS) on July 17, Vice President for Finance and Operations Mike Wagner announced in an all-campus email on April 11. He will replace Deputy Director for Operations Alison Warner, who assumed the role of interim director of CSS after Eric Sullivan resigned last summer, according to a Daily Messages announcement from Wagner on June 21, 2023.
In the April 11 email, Wagner wrote that Palmer has worked at the College of Saint Rose in Albany, N.Y., for over 15 years and is currently the associate director of campus safety there until the college permanently closes in June.
After Sullivan’s departure in June 2023, the College launched a national search for the next CSS Director. They also released a feedback form for faculty, students, and staff to offer comments on what qualities they wanted for the next CSS director.
In the following months, the CSS Search Committee partnered with other faculty, students, and Spelman Johnson, an executive search firm, to undergo the hiring process. “The national search firm employed both passive and active recruitment strategies, including advertising the position across a wide range of platforms and leveraging their professional networks,” Director of Dining Services and Chair of the CSS Search Committee Temesgen Araya wrote in an email to the Record.
The outreach procedure took several weeks to pan out as the search committee was determined to form a well-rounded and highly qualified candidate pool, Araya added. “We sought a candidate with a strong background in campus safety, excellent leadership skills, and a deep understanding of the unique safety needs of a college campus,” he wrote.
Once they reviewed all applications and conducted virtual interviews, the committee invited Palmer and two other candidates to visit the campus and meet with several campus stakeholders. “This step allowed us to gather valuable feedback and assess the candidates’ ability to navigate and understand their thought process when engaging with our campus culture and community,” Araya wrote. The committee members then shared their assessment of the finalists with Wagner, who ultimately selected Palmer for the position.
Wagner shared in the announcement his gratitude for the search committee’s dedication to the recruiting process, especially its time spent on interviews and evaluations of the selected candidates.
“Williams is very fortunate to have a talented and dedicated team of CSS staff, and especially to have had Alison Warner take on the interim director role; I am very grateful for all they have done while the search for a new director was completed and for their help to orient Jeff when he arrives,” Wagner wrote in an email to the Record.
Wagner added that Palmer’s arrival in July will allow him a smooth transition into the College, given the number of students and activities still active on campus during the summer months. “It will be a great opportunity for [him] to get to know the Campus Safety team, their work practices and protocols, and how he can best support them in their work,” he wrote.
Palmer declined request for comment.
