Come Sept. 7, the department responsible for the safety of Saint Louis University students will be undergoing some major changes. The Department of Public Safety now has a new leader, a revised name and hopes to establish a new image.
The reorganized department will be led by Roland Corvington, currently of the FBI. Corvington will serve as an assistant vice president and director for the department.

This reflects a decision by the university to elevate the position as head of the safety department administratively from the status of director to an assistant vice president, which will allow Corvington more flexibility to initiate changes in SLU’s safety efforts.

With Corvington’s hiring, Sam Simon, former emergency preparedness director, and Mike Lauer, former DPS director, will be leaving the university. Both Simon and Lauer served with the St. Louis Police Department prior to their service at SLU. Ken Hornak, who is serving as the interim director, said that both Simon and Lauer have always been supportive of the department and of the university.
“In their time, the department had a lot of ‘positives’ and SLU was definitely a better place because of them,” Hornak said.
Along with staff changes, the SLU community will notice a name transition from “Department of Public Safety” to “Public Safety and Security Services.”
According to Hornak, the name was changed in order to encompass other services within the department. In the meantime, both students and officers have continued to call the department DPS. The SLU website has the “Department of Public Safety and Security Services” listed, and Lauer is still listed as the director. Corvington said that renaming the department was already part of a process when he was brought in, and that he did not suggest the name change.
Though the department is undergoing “reorganization” according to the university, Hornak said that all services will remain the same, including SLU ride, student escort services, the blue emergency poles and campus patrols.
The main area in which change will be evident is in the improved image that the department hopes to create with students. New efforts will be made to increase interaction between students and the department.
“We don’t want students to think we’re out to get them. We want them to interact and understand that we’re trying to provide the best services we can,” Hornak said.
Most of these changes will be the result of assessing current risks within the department and also gauging student and faculty perception of the safety department.
“It is important to understand how students feel about [the department],” Corvington said. He said he hopes to increase engagement with the SLU community by talking to as many people as possible to figure out what direction the service needs to go in.
Previously, Corvington served as the special agent in charge of the Eastern District of Missouri, an area that covers more than 50 counties. In this role, Corvington oversaw all FBI security, intelligence and investigative operations in the area.
As a student at Western Illinois University, Corvington worked for the campus safety department and also served as a resident assistant. He understands how university campus culture operates and had always considered working at a university.
“I found SLU’s reputation very attractive,” Corvington said.
Security officers will continue their duties and will be highly visible and available to students. According to Hornak, safety department members have met with Corvington to discuss ideas and programs to increase officer interaction with students in anticipation of a new era in SLU security.
Corvington said he hopes to increase campus engagement, security awareness within the SLU community and also work to improve the accreditation of the service. He also said he hopes to engage all stakeholders in order to boost the service component of the safety and security service. Safety officers are usually one of the first contacts students have on campus and Corvington said that the department wants to work on providing the best service to students.
Corvington’s law enforcement career spans more than three decades, including time in both the FBI and the private security sector. He has served as the FBI’s chief security officer, retooled the New Agents Training Program at the FBI academy and also served as the incident commander of the United Flight 93 crime scene following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Through his service, Corvington has extensive experience in officer training, criminal investigation, protective services and white collar crime. In a university press release, SLU President Lawrence Biondi said, “SLU’s campus is very safe. With his tremendous experience, skills and abilities, I know [Corvington] will help make our campus even safer.”
According to Hornak, the department is excited to have a new beginning and to work with someone of Corvington’s reputation. “He is very family-oriented and can create good student interaction. It is a good all-around combination,” Hornak said. He also said that Corvington’s experience will be a great resource to all SLU security officers and that both department personnel and the greater SLU community will be able to learn from him.