Upon the recommendation of Assistant Vice Chancellor for Operations, Tom Ellis, Vice Chancellor Richard Brown announces the selection and appointment of Robert “Bob” Ratchford to serve as the new Campus Police Chief and Director of Public Safety for UTC. Ratchford, who graduated from the Chattanooga Police Academy in the same class as Chattanooga Police Chief Freeman Cooper, brings over 26 years of progressive law enforcement experience to the campus and community.
Ratchford is a Ringgold, Georgia, native. He has served as the UTC Acting Chief of Police for the Department of Public Safety since February 2007 and has served at UTC for 26 years. Before he accepted his current position, Ratchford served as the Detective Lieutenant of Criminal Investigations, the Internal Affairs Investigations Officer, and as the FBI certified firearms instructor for the UTC Police Department.
“It is both a sincere honor and a privilege to be able to serve the University community in this capacity,” Ratchford said. “The primary mission of our organization is to maintain a safe environment conducive to learning to support the overall mission of the University in its commitment to education. The University Police Department will continue to provide services to the University community in a professional, respectful, knowledgeable and skilful manner, with the highest standards of ethics, accountability, dignity, equity and fairness. I am proud of our police officers, support staff, and student employees who have demonstrated a personal commitment to providing a professional and effective community-oriented law enforcement agency.”
Ratchford has received instruction and completed training in many areas, including Criminal Investigations, Internal Affairs Investigations, Homicide Investigations, Forensic Document Examination, and Tennessee Incident Based Reporting System Data Collection. Ratchford has also attended and completed the Tennessee Law Enforcement Executive Development and Law Enforcement Instructor Development Schools.
Currently, Ratchford serves on the county-wide Comprehensive Emergency Strategic Planning Task Force for Education, the UTC Emergency Management Team, the Campus and Student Welfare Response Task Force, and the UTC Student Issues Team. He resides in Signal Mountain, Tennessee.
“We stand appreciative of Bob’s sacrifice and commitment to service, while applauding and thanking each member of our Campus Public Safety team for their unselfish sacrifice and service,” Brown said.
