U. police commissioner resigns post

Half Hollow Hills H.S. West '93 Dix Hills, N. Y. University Police Commissioner John Kuprevich will resign his position at the University on July 31. Announcing his resignation in April, he said he had finished all he wanted to accomplish at the University and is ready to pursue new challenges elsewhere. Immediately following his resignation, a nationwide search was initiated to find a replacement, according to Executive Vice President John Fry. Fry said a new commissioner will be in place when Kuprevich leaves. Although Kuprevich has not said if he has a replacement job, sources said in early May that he was a finalist for police commissioner at the University of New Mexico. The University's first commissioner of public safety, Kuprevich oversaw the University's police department and Victim Support and Special Services unit since assuming the post in December 1990. Over his four-year term, he has worked with three University presidents, five executive vice presidents, and three Philadelphia Police commissioners. Kuprevich said he concentrated on preventing crime through "community policing" and expanding the Division of Public Safety. In February of this year, he reported that the total number of campus crimes during 1994 fell nearly one percent from the previous year, and said the general trend has been "very, very similar" over the past several years. University President Judith Rodin applauded Kuprevich's accomplishments. "He has made significant strides in helping us think about a broader and more integrated set of security initiatives," she said. However, many of the officers under Kuprevich's command expressed dissatisfaction with the commissioner during his tenure. Several officers have directly blamed Kuprevich for lowering the department's morale. After the announcement of Kuprevich's resignation, University Fraternal Order of Police President Dave Ball said the commissioner "couldn't keep his promises." And in December, FOP Chief Shop Steward Peggy O'Malley accused Kuprevich of doing "a whole lot of talking and not a lot of doing." Before coming to the University, Kuprevich was in charge of Brown University's police and security force for nine years. His career began as a Pennsylvania State University police officer. Kuprevich then worked at Wayne State University in Detroit for 11 years.

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