Paul Bass File Photo
Six weeks after leaving New Haven and his job as city police chief, Jim Lewis has agreed to return to town — to run Yale’s police department.
Lewis is taking the job on an “interim” basis while Yale looks for a permanent successor to retiring campus Chief James Perrotti, university President Rick Levin announced in a message emailed to top staffers Friday afternoon.
Perrotti retires on June 30 after 37 years on the job. Lewis begins work July 1.
In the statement, Levin emphasized that Lewis would work closely with the department’s number-two cop, Ronnell Higgins; and with Assistant Vice President for Administration Janet Lindner, who played a similar supervisory role with city police as chief administrative officer in the early years of the DeStefano administration.
When he left New Haven, Lewis said he wasn’t looking for another permanent chief’s job, but that he might be open to temporary gigs. He found one fast — back where he departed after a 20-month stay.
Meanwhile, Lewis’s replacement as New Haven police chief, Frank Limon, took office this week—just in time to confront a spate of killings.
Following is the text of Rick Levin’s Friday announcement:
To: Deans, Directors and senior Yale Staff
Sent: Fri Apr 09 15:26:03 2010
Subject: Announcement — YPD transition
To Deans, Directors, and Senior Yale Staff:
As you know, Jim Perrotti will be retiring on June 30, 2010 after 37 years of devoted service to the Yale Police Department, the last 12 as chief. As with prior appointments of a new chief, Yale will be launching a national search for Jim’s successor. During the transition period and the search, I am pleased to announce that Jim Lewis will oversee the YPD and have the title of Interim Director of Public Safety. Jim recently spent nearly two years leading the New Haven Police Department and has outstanding background in policing. We are fortunate that Assistant Chief Ron Higgins of the Yale Police Department will be working with Chief Lewis to manage operational issues in the Department. With their leadership, I am confident that we will continue the strong performance from the Yale police that we have enjoyed under Chief Perrotti’s tenure.
The Officers, in an effort to rebalance their portfolios, agreed some time ago that a number of functions of the Vice President for Finance and of the Secretary would be transferred to Michael Peel, Vice President for Human Resources and Administration. In addition to assuming responsibility for Parking and Transit, Graduate Housing and a number of other campus services, he will add responsibility for Police and Security starting July 1. Janet Lindner, Associate Vice President for Administration, will be responsible for the day-to-day direction of these organizations. As you may know, Janet oversaw the New Haven Police Department when she served as Chief Administrative Officer for the City of New Haven. Linda Lorimer and Martha Highsmith will continue to be responsible for emergency situations and crisis management, and they will work closely with Mike and Janet in those situations, as well as to ensure a smooth transition.
We are fortunate to have such strong police and security organizations and I know that this new leadership will only build on the already good foundation.
Sincerely yours,
Richard C. Levin