OAKWOOD - Richard Goodson is making his first leap to campus public safety director just as his new employer, Gainesville State College, is making the transition from a security force to a police department.
"I think this commitment to the safety of our students demonstrates the forward thinking of the administration of the college as we continue to grow and our needs continue to change," said Goodson, who last served as deputy director of public safety at Georgia College & State University in Milledgeville.
"I feel very privileged to lead this department through the change."
Goodson, 44, an Albany native, has worked in campus law enforcement since 1984.
His first job was at the University of Georgia, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice and holds an ardent Bulldog allegiance.
Goodson went to GCSU in 1997. He left his job there Oct. 12 and started at Gainesville State last Monday.
At GSC, he will oversee eight security officers and a 24-hour operation that's responsible for traffic control, parking services, security of the grounds and buildings and courtesy services such as jump-starting vehicles and unlocking automobile doors.
Unlike community law enforcement, the people campus officers might encounter are not bent on committing crimes.
"Ninety percent of (non-campus officers') time is spent with about 10 percent of the population," Goodson said. "Here, when people make a mistake, it's usually an honest mistake."
The Virginia Tech massacre in April did prompt colleges nationwide to tighten campus security. And with Gainesville State's growing population, the need for more vigilance has likewise grown in importance.
Goodson, who also has retired as a captain from the Army National Guard after 20 years, said he hopes to gear up GSC's public safety office to a police department by the start of 2008.
Eventually, he hopes to have all the tools of a fully fledged operation - including new vehicles, weapons and badges - as officers will be able to detain suspects and make arrests for the first time.
Goodson, who was recognized as the Georgia Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators Member of the Year for 2006, became familiar with GSC after deciding "it was time to move up" to a director's post.
He had served as a deputy director for 10 years.
"So, I came up here to visit," he said. " I enjoyed the people and the staff is extremely supportive."
He added that security officers at the college now are retired police officers.
"This is a good position to be in, to transition over (to the police department)," said Goodson, who is completing his graduate degree in public administration at the Command College at Columbus State University.
He replaces Marion Darracott, who retired at the end of May.
Martha T. Nesbitt, president of the college, said she is pleased to have Goodson on board.
"He brings a wealth of experience from institutions within the university system and I am confident that he will fit in with our student-focused culture in keeping GSC a friendly, safe and secure environment," she said.