What Does Chatham Public Safety Do for Students?
An officer in Chatham’s Public Safety department eats pizza with members of the campus community during a 2022 “Pizza with the Police” event. (Liam Lyons)
Across Chatham University, there are various offices and departments ready to help students with life on campus. Pulse@ChathamU has previously spoken to the Office of Student Affairs and the Office of Academic and Accessibility Resources about how they support students inside and outside the classroom.
This week, Chief Donna Grossi of Chatham Public Safety spoke to Pulse about her experience in law enforcement, the role campus police play in university life, and what resources the department has for students. These responses have been lightly edited for clarity.
How Chatham Public Safety can help you:
Assistance with lost items, lockouts, vehicle jump starts, medical transports, and wellness checks
Provide walking escorts on campus to ensure student safety
Help create personal safety plans and share resources for crime victims
Officers can be reached at 412-365-1111 in case of an emergency.
When did you join Chatham's Public Safety Department? What was your prior experience in public safety and law enforcement?
Donna Grossi is Chief of Chatham Public Safety.
I’ve worked for the Public Safety Department at Chatham three different times and in three different capacities. In 2012, I was here as an officer. In 2017, I worked as a police sergeant. I returned in 2021 as the chief of police. I’ve worked in municipal policing and at two other universities since completing the police academy in 2004.
What are some differences between a campus public safety department and a municipal police department?
The primary difference I see is the opportunity for relationship building that a university setting provides. Municipal and private police departments are very similar operationally, but our public safety team has consistent opportunities to interact with young folks on a positive and personal level that isn’t always available in a municipality, due to call volume or other various reasons.
What are some of the typical services the department provides to students on a day-to-day basis?
We regularly assist students with lost items, vehicle issues such as lockout or jump start, assistance with medical transports, wellness checks, or taking reports for various reasons.
What are some examples of services and resources Chatham Public Safety provides but students might not know about?
We provide walking escorts on campus for safety reasons, we can work with students to create personal safety plans, and provide connection to resources for victims of crimes.
How can students best interact with Public Safety, whether there is an emergency or not?
I believe that my team is very community-oriented and looks forward to frequent community interaction. Through partnership with Parkhurst, we’ve had a few events on campus such as “Pizza with Police” and “Coffee with Cops,” which gave the department the opportunity to interact with students, faculty, and staff in a more relaxed setting, which I believe creates a more comfortable experience if we were to ever interact with those same folks while responding to an emergency. Officers patrol 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and are approachable should a student need to connect for any reason.
Our office is located in Rea Garage and in-person visits without prior appointment are welcomed. For emergency reporting, anyone can dial 412-365-1111 to reach an officer.
To learn more about Chatham Public Safety, visit the department’s webpage.
Contact the department at 412-365-1230 or email publicsafety@chatham.edu.
For questions about parking permits, email parking@chatham.edu.
Sign up for ChathamAlert to receive email and text messages in the event of an emergency.