New ETSU Police Chief
JOHNSON CITY – (June 20, 2018) During a news conference earlier today, East Tennessee State University introduced its new Chief of Police and Director of Public Safety.
Nicole N. Collins will assume the role July 1 and replaces Jack Cotrel, who is retiring after 40 years of service at the university, including 17 years as Chief of Police.
Collins brings over 30 years of experience, including significant work in law enforcement and the military. She comes to ETSU from New York University where she served as assistant vice president in the Department of Public Safety and was responsible for overseeing field operations. Her duties included serving as second in command of the field operations division, which has a security team of approximately 350 officers on campuses in Manhattan and Brooklyn.
She also oversaw the uniformed services unit, community response unit, transportation unit, property management and contract services.
While at NYU, she developed a five-year strategic plan and helped implement new procedures, policies and goals for training, lost/found property, records and administrative functions.
Collins is also a member of the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA).
“The safety of our students, faculty and staff is our highest priority,” said ETSU President Brian Noland. “We have an outstanding team of dedicated officers and administrators who protect our community and ensure a safe learning and work environment for all those who call ETSU home. Collins will continue that commitment to safety and will provide the vision and direction to move the department and our campus forward in an ever-changing landscape of higher education.”
Prior to joining the NYU team, Collins spent four years at Vanderbilt University where as a lieutenant and later as police executive captain she had oversight and responsibilities with communications, professional standards, internal affairs investigations, Clery coordination, accreditation, campus community relations, Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) program and records.
She was responsible for coordinating with campus leaders on issuing timely warnings as required by the Clery Act, and she also developed and implemented processes to meet and maintain compliance standards for the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators (IACLEA), Tennessee Law Enforcement Accreditation (TLEA) and CALEA, which presented Vanderbilt University with the Gold Standard Excellence Award.
From 2006-13, she served in the police department at the University of Tennessee. During her tenure at UT, she worked as the RAD coordinator and was responsible for the implementation of the RAD for credit program that allowed students to earn credit while learning to defend themselves. She planned, coordinated and managed large-scale and traffic events, including implementing mass evacuation procedures for athletic events. She also assisted UT by creating policies and procedures that positioned the department to become the first in the state to achieve initial and reaccreditation status with CALEA and IACLEA.
Collins spent four years with the U.S. Navy and three years with the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. She graduated magna cum laude from Savannah State University with a B.S. degree in criminal justice.
“Our search for a new Chief of Police yielded a large number of qualified applicants from across the state and nation,” said Jeremy Ross, ETSU Chief Operating Officer. “The interest we received reflects the positive image held by ETSU and particularly our Public Safety team. Chief Collins possesses a strong work ethic, expertise and experience, and it is our honor to welcome her to ETSU and to this region.”