After 14 years at Saint Louis University, Jack Titone will step behind his desk today as the department of public safety director for the last time.
As of Sept. 14, Titone will be retired, leaving current DPS Investigator Larry Purvis in charge as interim-director.
“I was a little surprised [upon hearing about his retirement],” Purvis said, “[but] I feel that he’s put in plenty of good service with the police department and here at the university, and he deserve[s] a nice retirement.”
Titone was employed with the St. Louis police for 27 years prior to SLU, working as a supervisor in the sex-crime unit, and later as a captain of his district, eventually becoming commander for the St. Louis police’s homicide division until he took up post as the DPS director.
During his time at SLU, Titone said he was devoted to making life at SLU as safe as possible. Under his leadership, DPS began the emergency cab system for students and a DPS advisory group that consists of students, faculty and staff from both campuses, who make suggestions about how to improve current safety standards. At the advisory’s recommendations,
Titone managed to get a Metrolink escort system up and running. When Titone arrived at SLU, DPS had only three mobile patrols; now they have seven. He recently worked with a member of the Student Government Association to install a timer at the West Pine and Grand Boulevard intersection to help pedestrians cross safely.
He also expanded the DPS beats and is responsible for the school-wide e-mails that alert the student body to crimes occurring both on and near campus.
“We are a very safe campus here at the University,” he said. “If you compare us with our sister schools . you’ll see that their crime rate is much higher than at Saint Louis University.”
After Titone’s departure, DPS will be restructured to create a position that will head not only DPS, but also the safety officer position for compliance and environmental safety. Starting Oct. 1, Sam Simon, formerly the public safety director for the city of St. Louis, will fill the new position and begin a search for a new DPS director and two new assistant directors.
Titone said he felt that after 14 years, seeing SLU events on TV or driving through campus would always “bring a little tear” to his eye.
“I’ll miss . the interactions I’ve had with the students, . [and] I’ve worked with a lot of great administrators,” he said. “[But] I won’t miss being woken up [in the middle of the night] because of power outages or things of that nature.”
He expressed his gratitude to those in the department who have worked with him over the years.
“I would like to thank the men and women of the department of public safety who go out every day and perform the job,” he said. “They are really the ones that the make the campus safe.”
