UConn Hires New Chief of Police

The has named Barbara O'Connor its new Director of Public Safety and Chief of Police.

O’Connor, 50, previously the head of public safety at UMass-Amherst and police chief from the University of Illinois, will succeed former Associate Vice President for Public Safety and Chief of Police Robert Hudd, who is retiring after 30 years with the university.

“We are thrilled that Barbara will be joining UConn,” UConn President Susan Herbst, said in a prepared statement.

“Being a police chief at a large university requires a specialized understanding of the unique challenges a college campus presents. Barbara has exactly the kind of background and experience we were looking for and we look forward to her arrival on campus,” she said.

This is the first time in the school's history that a woman has been named chief of police.

O’Connor will begin at UConn sometime in the spring at an annual salary of $164,700.

O’Connor earned her BA from Westfield State College in MA in 1985; a Master’s Degree from UMass in 1999 and a law degree from the Western New England College of Law in Springfield, MA in 2005, according to a press release.