The University of Guelph has named David Lee, a veteran with the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), as director of Campus Community Police, Emergency Management and Fire Safety.
Lee will begin his appointment Sept. 28.
“David brings with him 30 years of leadership and policing experience,” said Don O’Leary, vice-president (finance and administration), who headed the search committee.
As an OPP inspector, Lee has held front-line and management roles. He has worked in community policing, emergency management, and wellness and mental health, and has headed strategic, training and development initiatives, O’Leary said.
“All of this makes him ideally suited for this position. I know that the University community will join me in welcoming him to Guelph.”
Most recently, Lee has managed the OPP West Region and Highway Safety Division in London, Ont., where he oversees regional traffic and marine issues and heads a 35-member emergency response team.
Previously he was deputy director of the OPP Academy, staff development and training officer for OPP headquarters in Orillia, and operations manager for the force in Collingwood.
Earlier in his career, he was a sergeant for the First Nations Policing Section.
A graduate of Laurentian University and the Leading Strategic Change executive program at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, he holds a certificate in police studies from Western University.
Lee succeeds Robin Begin, who was named manager of students at risk in the Office of Student Affairs in May.
U of G’s Campus Community Police was established in 1967 and is one of the longest-serving campus policing services in Canada.
Including a number of officers and dispatchers, the unit enforces federal, provincial and municipal laws as well as the University’s Student Rights and Responsibilities and Code of Conduct.
Parking services was recently renamed as Sustainable Transportation and Parking Services; the unit has been moved from the campus police unit to the Department of Physical Resources.
“Over the years, parking services has expanded,” O’Leary said, adding that design, construction and maintenance services fit better within Physical Resources.