MSU Police Chief Lynch promoted, Rozman to lead department

EAST LANSING — Michigan State University Vice President for Public Safety and Chief of Police Marlon Lynch will be promoted to the newly-created position of vice president and chief safety officer and interim Deputy Chief Chris Rozman will take over leadership of the campus law enforcement agency.

MSU Interim President Teresa Woodruff announced the leadership changes pending approval by the MSU Board of Trustees at its next meeting on April 21 in a letter to the MSU community on Tuesday. Lynch has already appointed Rozman, who handled many of the media briefings after a Feb. 13 shooting that left three students dead and five critically injured, to become chief of police effective Tuesday.

"I am personally humbled and grateful for the opportunity to serve as police chief," Rozman said in a statement on Tuesday. "I've been on campus as a member of the Spartan community since 1997 beginning as a student, and then becoming a police officer in 2001. I've had the wonderful opportunity to serve MSU in so many different ways. I am so excited about this opportunity moving forward."

The university has undertaken a number of safety issues in the weeks since the shooting.

"Decoupling the roles of vice president for public safety and police chief will allow expanded focus and attention on university safety planning on our East Lansing campus and beyond," Woodruff wrote. "For the vice president, this includes the additional responsibilities of leading the ongoing work of centralizing security systems, creating and implementing the security operations center and integrating the safety and security functions of our health college campuses outside of East Lansing − all while carrying forward the department’s 2022-25 strategic plan. The new structure also preserves our police department maintaining an on-the-ground police chief to manage the daily operations of the department in East Lansing."

MSU has health campuses in Grand Rapids, Flint and Detroit.

Lynch came to MSU in February 2021 when MSU expanded the role of police chief. Woodruff said at the time the role was expanded to recognize "broadening nature of proactive safety planning needs across the university beyond traditional law enforcement efforts," she wrote.

Former MSU President Samuel Stanley Jr. picked Lynch to lead the department and fill the new role and the Board of Trustees approved his hire in April 2021. Lynch was formerly the chief safety officer for the University of Utah in Salt Lake City.

Woodruff said the newly adopted police and safety leadership structure is common at other large universities.

"And as our university-wide safety measures expand, it is critical these roles be separated to ensure adequate resources and support for our shared priorities," Woodruff wrote. "MSU stands united in strengthening our campus’s sense of safety. We are focused on implementing the measures needed to enhance our security, and we are committed to advancing this important work in a swift, meticulous manner. I have full confidence VP Lynch and Chief Rozman are best positioned to help us do just that."

Contact Mark Johnson at majohnson2@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ByMarkJohnson.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: MSU Police Chief Marlon Lynch promoted, Chris Rozman to lead department