Interim Police Chief and U-M all-campus safety network announced

October 1, 2018

UM-Dearborn named Tim Wiley interim chief of police and director of public safety as a new reporting structure is introduced for greater collaboration.

 New Interim Police Chief Tom Wiley, UM-Dearborn Public Safety
New Interim Police Chief Tom Wiley, UM-Dearborn Public Safety

University Michigan-Dearborn has named Tim Wiley interim chief of police and director of public safety. Wiley brings more than 20 years of experience to campus, most recently serving as public affairs officer for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Detroit Division. Wiley will serve as interim chief while a search for a permanent chief is conducted.

Wiley will lead the department as it joins the newly created University of Michigan campus safety network and begins reporting into U-M’s Division of Public Safety and Security this week.

“This the next logical step in the development of DPSS as it was envisioned by campus leaders, including the Board of Regents, when the division was created in 2012,” said President Mark Schlissel. Police chiefs at the Dearborn and Flint campuses will begin reporting to DPSS Executive Director Eddie Washington Jr. today, Oct. 1.

Having the leaders of all campus safety and security departments reporting to one universitywide leader is consistent with the best practices among higher education peers and will allow for more direct support for the regional campuses.

Washington said the UM-Dearborn and UM-Flint police chiefs will continue to manage their campuses’ day-to-day operations. “My commitment is to support the regional campus police chiefs so they are able to meet the safety needs of their communities.”

UM-Dearborn Chancellor Domenico Grasso said the new reporting line makes perfect sense. “This allows our campus police and public safety officers to be aligned with the Ann Arbor campus in many important ways.”

Prior to joining the FBI, Wiley spent 17 years in the New Baltimore Police department, including five years as New Baltimore's chief of police. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in education from University of Detroit Mercy and a Master of Public Administration degree from Central Michigan University. Wiley completed the FBI National Academy, 259th session, and has been an ongoing adjunct professor of criminal justice at Wayne State University and Macomb Community College.

Police officers on all campuses are deputized under state law and there is a Police Oversight Committee that operates separately on the Ann Arbor, Dearborn and Flint campuses.