FAIRFIELD, Conn.—Edward Shea of West Haven has been promoted to deputy chief of public safety at Sacred Heart University.
Shea has worked as SHU’s assistant director of public safety since 2011 and also serves as an adjunct criminal justice instructor. For the past eight years, he has assisted in leading the operations of the 48-member public safety department. In his newly created role as deputy chief, Shea will advise and assist the chief in development and administration of policies, procedures and programs, as well as budgets and capital expenditures. He will seek and manage grants to enhance the department, implement and draft department policies, communicate with other departments to further public safety’s mission and goals, oversee activities of special units and assume other duties to foster and maintain a safe and secure environment for the University.
Prior to joining SHU, Shea worked for the Milford Police Department for 23 years. He started on the force as a patrolman and worked his way up to patrol division captain. During his police career, he created the department’s first state-approved field training program, developed the department’s first community policing unit, instructed recruits at the Regional Police Training Academy, taught classes in the Milford Police Citizen’s Academy and managed special divisions such as the K-9, bike patrol and crime suppression units. He also held a mayoral appointment as Milford’s Homeland Security grant coordinator.
“I am very appreciative of the support and confidence the University administration has shown by providing me with this fantastic opportunity,” Shea said. “It has been so exciting to see the incredible growth of SHU over the last several years. We have become a model of change and innovation in so many ways. I am looking forward to working alongside Executive Director Gary MacNamara as we lead the Department of Public Safety with that same pioneering philosophy. My goal is to see this agency emerge as a leader in our field, just as so many other aspects of our University are proudly doing.”
Shea holds a certificate in infrastructure protection from TEEX|Texas A&M University, a bachelor’s degree in public safety administration from Charter Oak State College and a master’s degree in criminal justice from Sacred Heart (2017).
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As the second-largest independent Catholic university in New England, and one of the fastest-growing in the U.S., Sacred Heart University is a national leader in shaping higher education for the 21st century. SHU offers more than 80 undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and certificate programs on its Fairfield, Conn., campus, which is located about an hour from Manhattan and 2.5 hours from Boston. Sacred Heart also has satellites in Connecticut, Luxembourg and Ireland. More than 8,500 students attend the University’s eight colleges and schools: Arts & Sciences; Communication, Media & the Arts; Computer Science & Engineering; Health Professions; the Isabelle Farrington College of Education; the Jack Welch College of Business; Nursing; and St. Vincent’s College. Sacred Heart is rooted in the rich Catholic intellectual tradition and the liberal arts, yet at the same time develops students to be forward thinkers who enact change—in their own lives and professions and in their communities. A spirit of service, entrepreneurship and social justice is the essence of who we are and can be seen inside and outside the classroom as students learn how to make a difference far beyond Fairfield. The Princeton Review includes SHU in its Best 384 Colleges–2019 Edition, “Best in the Northeast” and Best 267 Business Schools–2018 Edition. It also placed SHU on its lists for “Happiest Students” and “Most Engaged in Community Service,” each of which comprises only 20 U.S. schools. Sacred Heart has a Division I athletics program. www.sacredheart.edu