UC San Diego Names New Chief of Police

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The UC San Diego Police Department is one of the most technologically advanced institutional agencies in California

David S. Rose, a veteran law enforcement officer at the University of California, San Diego, has been appointed chief of police at UC San Diego effective June 30, 2014. Rose will assume the role following the retirement this week of Orville King, who has served as chief of police for the past 12 years. The appointment follows an extensive search.

“With his experience and knowledge of the university, Dave Rose is an exceptional choice to lead an agency that is absolutely critical to maintaining the safety and well-being of our campus community,” said UC San Diego Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla. “I am confident that he will do a tremendous job.”

Rose has more than 32 years of experience serving the UC San Diego community. He began working with the UC San Diego Police Department while a student at the university, serving as a community service officer and dispatcher. While working as a full-time dispatcher, he attended the 100th San Diego Police Academy. Upon completion of the Police Academy, Rose became a UC San Diego police officer. Over the years, he worked his way up the ranks and, in 2009, became captain, serving as a department second in command.

For the past 10 years, Rose has held many leadership and management roles. As captain of the Specialized Services Division, he oversaw programs in crime prevention, community training and outreach, as well as the areas of investigations; threat assessments; training; communications; campus security services; emergency management; information technology; grant administration; records and evidence; reporting and compliance; and the Residential Security and Community Service Officer programs. He has also planned and commanded security for special events featuring high-profile speakers and dignitaries, including former President Bill Clinton and the Clinton Global Initiative University and visits from the Dalai Lama, the presidents of Peru and El Salvador, and several U.S. senators and representatives.

“Dave is a dedicated officer and a highly-tested leader who will play a vital role at UC San Diego, ensuring our campus continues to be as safe as possible,” said Gary C. Matthews, vice chancellor of Resource Management and Planning, who oversees the UC San Diego Police Department.

In addition to receiving numerous certificates in managerial and supervisory training from California Peace Officer Standards and Training, Rose is a graduate of the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia and the FBI’s Law Enforcement Executive Development Seminar. He is a graduate of UC San Diego, magna cum laude, majoring in political science with a Law and Society minor.

As chief of the UC San Diego Police Department, Rose will lead one of the most technologically advanced institutional agencies in California. He will be responsible for overseeing all police functions for the campus; directing and managing strategic and tactical responses to campus emergencies; ensuring compliance with all federal, state and local emergency management requirements; and advocating cooperative and collaborative partnerships with students, staff, faculty and visitors in support of the university mission.

“It is truly an honor to be selected as the next chief of police,” said Rose. “To be able to continue serving the community I have known for the last 30 plus years is an extremely humbling and rewarding experience.”

Rose originally began his undergraduate studies at UC San Diego as a premed student. His father was a physician and professor of medicine and his mother a nurse, which made going into the medical field seem like a logical course of action. Things changed, however, once he began working with the campus police department as a community service officer.

“I found I really loved the idea of community service and law enforcement,” said Rose. “It interested me in a way that, probably to my parents’ dismay, medical school just didn’t. But, the ‘best laid plans’…”