Campus Safety Services (CSS) Officer Nancy Macauley will leave her position at the College on June 13, ending her 14-year tenure. During her time at the College, Macauley has cultivated close relationships with students and staff alike, becoming a mainstay of campus events and the College community.

“Nancy is the glue of the department,” CSS Deputy Director for Operations Alison Warner told the Record. 

Macauley is the only part-time officer with CSS, meaning she must work at least six hours a week but has a more flexible day-to-day schedule than many of her colleagues. 

Macauley’s part-time position allows her to choose the campus events she’s on duty for. “I’ve been lucky because I’m part-time, so I’ve gotten to be able to do lots of different things,” she said in an interview with the Record. “I did all the events: athletic, a cappella, everything you can imagine.” 

Warner said that Macauley’s impact at CSS belies her part-time status. “Even as a part-time employee, her commitment is full-time,” she wrote. “Whether she’s volunteering to master the dispatch desk or covering shifts so her colleagues can have time with their families, she is the ultimate team player.”

As the daughter of Allen Hart, the College’s former baseball and football assistant coach, Macauley’s campus connection dates back to her childhood. “All the roots are here,” she said. “For a long time, since day one. How lucky am I?”

After her upbringing in Williamstown, Macauley earned a degree in sociology from UMass Amherst and then began a career of youth social service, first with the Massachusetts State Department of Children and Families, and then as a juvenile court probation officer. “It’s what I do,” she said. “I like young people.”

Her role as a probation officer ultimately brought her back to the College. In 2011, she collaborated with Alexa Lutchen ’11 and since-retired local judge Judith Locke to launch the Learning Intervention for Teens (LIFT) program, a Winter Study course, which allows local teenagers in the juvenile court system to work with a student on a project as an alternative sentencing option. LIFT celebrated its 15th anniversary in January, Macauley said.

Macauley said that, as a probation officer, she helped run the program, facilitating the connection between students at the College and the teens in juvenile court. She would drive teens on probation back and forth from the College and lead training sessions with students at the College in LIFT’s early stages. 

After debuting the LIFT program while working as a probation officer, joining CSS was a natural transition. “Dave Boyer, who was the [CSS] director then, said to me, ‘You should come work here. You know the students, you’d enjoy it,’” she said.  

It was exposure to the College’s students that motivated Macauley’s transition to CSS in 2012, and students have continued to inspire her for the past 14 years. “This will be my 14th graduation,” she said. “That’s why I really encourage students to work in a college setting, because you get to watch and be around young people. I’ve learned so much — music, art, fashion. It’s a really wonderful opportunity, and I’m so fortunate.” 

Macauley has made it part of her mission to help students feel secure and supported at the College. She’s taken students to dinner, or to go shopping for groceries. “I take students under my wing,” Macauley said. “[I try to] be available if there’s something they want to talk about, point them in the right direction to get the help or support they need.”

Students underscored Macauley’s dedication and warmth. “Nancy has been such a kind, welcoming, and reassuring presence on campus during my time at Williams,” Michael LesStrang ’26 said. “She always greets me by name and takes the time to ask me how I’m doing, and usually slips some much-needed life advice into our conversations.”

Sean Bottoms ’24, long involved with the music scene at the College, highlighted Macauley’s impact on his time on campus. “As soon as I started exploring [music], I put it together pretty quickly that Friday nights, Saturday nights – concerts, performances, dances, a cappella shows; [Ms.] Macauley was always there,” he wrote to the Record. “She’s easy to recognize because she has the best smile and she is absolutely wonderful to talk to. Not only did she make these experiences possible by being there, but her presence elevated them and brought me so much joy.”

For Macauley, a new chapter is bittersweet but exciting. “I feel like I’ve worked my whole life since I was 13 years old,” she said. “I want to not work. I want to know what that’s like. I think that’s the gift you get when you get older.”

In her absence, Macauley thinks that students should build relationships with staff at the College, including Dining, custodial, and Facilities staff. “Have respect for them,” she said. “Get to know them, because you can learn so much from the people that are around you that are doing the everyday work to keep it so that where you are is perfect.”

Above all, Macauley hopes students learn to appreciate their time at the College. “Look around, it’s beautiful,” she said. “So many kids graduate from this school and they don’t even know the buildings, because they never went in them. What a missed opportunity.”

Macauley’s steadfast devotion to the school and its students will be missed. “Her absence will be felt in the quiet moments and the busy shifts alike — wherever a problem needs solving with a human touch, I will think of Nancy,” Warner wrote. “If you look at the definition of ‘Campus Safety,’ you might find technical terms. But if you look at the practice of it, you’ll find Nancy Macauley. She has spent 14 years ensuring that our students aren’t just safe, but seen and supported.”