CU Boulder Chief Operating Officer Patrick O’Rourke has announced three finalists for the position of associate vice chancellor (AVC) for public safety.

The campus community is invited to participate in public forums (registration required) with each of the respective candidates. 

Finalists for the position are: 

• Doreen Jokerst, Assistant Vice Chancellor and Chief of Police, CU Boulder
• Marlon Lynch, Vice President and Chief Safety Officer, Michigan State University
• Randy Repola, Associate Vice Chancellor and Chief of Police, CU Anschutz

The AVC for public safety will oversee the newly created Division of Public Safety, which will include the CU Police Department, Emergency Management, Flight Operations and a new office of threat assessment. The new role will replace the AVC of Integrity, Safety and Compliance position being vacated by Dan Jones, who in September announced plans to retire. 

“All of these finalists bring extensive experience leading public safety organizations in higher education and beyond, and I am excited for our campus community to meet them,” O’Rourke said. “I welcome the participation of students, faculty and staff in the open forums and their input as we make this important decision for our university.”

In addition to the open forums, finalist interviews with campus leaders will take place in the coming days and weeks, with the goal of identifying a final candidate early in the spring semester. 

Biographies and resumes for each candidate are available online for public review. The public has the opportunity to submit questions for the candidates in advance through the registration links above. Questions may also be submitted to the Zoom host through the chat during the forums and will be asked as time permits. Priority will be given to questions submitted in advance.

Participants in the campus forums will have the opportunity to submit feedback for each finalist via online surveys distributed during the events. Feedback can also be submitted via email to evc-coo@colorado.edu by 11:59 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 12. O’Rourke will review all feedback prior to making an offer to a candidate. 

“I am thankful for our search committee and chairperson Jessica Doty for their work in helping us identify a strong group of finalists as we endeavor to build upon the progressive steps we’ve been taking in recent years to enhance campus safety,” O’Rourke said.