Lewis named UT System’s Police Chief of the Year
In recognition of outstanding work and leadership, UT Southwestern Police Chief Marcus Lewis has been named the UT System Police Chief of the Year. The awardee is personally selected by Michael J. Heidingsfield, UT System Director of Police.
“To be recognized at this stage in my career means a lot. It’s complimentary to see my efforts recognized.”
Chief Lewis
The award, created in 2011, is given annually to one of 13 UT System police chiefs for leadership and accomplishments at the chief’s respective institution.
Since joining UTSW 25 years ago as a Police Officer, Chief Lewis’ ascent to his current role leading the Police Department has been a natural progression. He was appointed Interim Chief in 2016 and named permanent Chief the following year. The whole time, Chief Lewis has approached the important job of safeguarding his UTSW work family with fierce loyalty and commitment.
“I think about protecting UTSW the way I would want to protect my family and making it the type of environment that I would want my family to feel safe in,” he said. “That’s really what drives me every day – a kind of guardianship.”
UTSW Police Capt. Billy Talkington agreed: “He’s fully vested in the community and a firm believer in the mission of UTSW.”
Colleagues mentioned “family” repeatedly in their assessment of Chief Lewis. They also said Chief Lewis is an effective Chief because he possesses the qualities of a good leader: decisiveness, authenticity, and dedication to empowering others. When he talks to peers and officers, many said, Chief Lewis goes the extra mile to build deep, trusting relationships. As a perfect example, Officer Jorge Lizardo recounted how the Chief showed compassion to his family during a trying time.
“I have a 2-year-old son who was born premature,” Officer Jorge Lizardo said. “It was a struggle having a baby in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) and sometimes missing work based on what was going on that day. I was able to talk to Chief Lewis about it. He made sure I understood that family came first and sent flowers to my family when my son came home from the NICU.
“People don’t see things like that behind the scenes, but that makes him a great leader,” Officer Lizardo added. “To this day, he still asks how my son is doing. The career can be hard enough, but to have great leadership makes it easier. It makes us want to come to work and try to do better for not just each other, but for the University. I’m proud to be a part of the Police Department.”
Drawn to a law enforcement career for the excitement of the work and interaction with the community, Chief Lewis first earned a Master of Arts in criminology and criminal justice from UT Arlington.
“After college, I worked in an office environment, and it drove me crazy,” he said. “I needed to be out in the world and feel like I was a part of what was happening in the community. That really pushed me toward police work. You never know what’s going to happen during your day, and no two days are the same.”
Nechelle Harris, Manager of University Police, said Chief Lewis is well respected within UTSW as well as throughout the UT System.
“Chief Lewis holds everyone to high standards and leads by example. He’s gone up through the ranks, and that’s inspiring to see for a lot of our officers,” Ms. Harris said. “He doesn’t measure the effectiveness and productivity of the Department based on the number of arrests made or citations written – he measures the Department’s effectiveness based on the campus community’s overall satisfaction with the Police Department.”
As proof of that effectiveness, the UTSW community has rated its overall satisfaction with the Police Department at or above 95% for several years now.
Peers in the UT System echoed the words of those within the UTSW Police Department. “He’s a good partner to have because you know that Marcus is going to carry his weight and contribute,” said Kim Lemaux, Chief of Police at UT Arlington. “He cares about the profession. He cares about his officers. And he cares about the community he serves.”