The new face of the law

The candidate picked as the next UB Chief of Police, one of over 75 qualified applicants reviewed by a board including university officials, student leaders and community representatives, is hitting the ground running.

It's a good thing he already knows his way around.

Gerard Schoenle, a born-and-raised Buffalonian, was recently chosen to replace former chief John Grela, who is retiring after 33 years of working for the university - 15 of those years as the leader of the on-campus police force.

Schoenle's r?(c)sum?(c) includes 20 years of experience with the Buffalo Police Department, five as the Director of Training for Erie County Central Police Services and most recently, a year and a half as an assistant chief in Arlington, Texas. Although the average population of UB is only about a tenth of the city of Arlington, Schoenle said he is excited to be the new campus chief.

"It's a good police department here with well trained officers," Schoenle said. "I look forward to working with the community to give them the kind of police department they want."

During his time as the county's director of public safety training, Schoenle played a part in the instruction of several officers now working at UB. His overall familiarity with the region as well as experience working in an educational setting were both major selling points to the university selection committee. Schoenle is being hired at an annual rate just under $100,000 a year - a salary at the higher end of the scale set by the search committee - according to Dean of Students Barbara Ricotta.

"We had a great pool (of candidates)," said Dennis Black, vice president for Student Affairs, "all of our finalists were exceptionally well qualified, and here's an individual that stood out even in that crowd."

Schoenle is confident he can take on his new role successfully, starting with an effort to open up communication across campus to hear any concerns from students and faculty. He has even suggested the possible creation of a student advisory board.

"We do it a lot in law enforcement, I don't see why it wouldn't work here," Schoenle said.

Schoenle officially took over for Grela on July 31; the former chief of police will stay on campus until the end of October, working on emergency preparedness plans for the university before he retires.