North Central University is pleased to announce that Michael Woods ’17 has been named Director of Safety and Emergency Management. Woods’ appointment follows a comprehensive overhaul of the Office of Campus Safety and Security. Under the new structure, the director will oversee a team of five full-time security professionals—including a Lieutenant of Safety and Emergency Management and four additional full-time Safety Patrol Officers—and a small corps of Student Officers.
The full-time security force will patrol the campus and positively engage the community 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Woods will also lead the Emergency Preparedness and Incident Crisis (EPIC) team and oversee continuous development and refinement of emergency operations planning and crisis response.
“The landscape of city safety and security has changed significantly over the past two decades,” noted Executive Director of Operations Jordan Robertson, “and at an accelerated pace this past year. Along with NCU’s Senior Leadership Team, we determined preemptively building a more robust and agile response team will will help us mitigate risk to the campus community and provide the appropriate level of full-time emergency response required for a campus in the heart of a major city.”
President Scott Hagan, Ph.D., is enthusiastic about Woods’ leadership and the new structure of the Security team as North Central University moves into its tenth decade in the city. “There has always been a grace and safety over the NCU campus,” Hagan said. “We love our location in the city of Minneapolis, and believe this new redesign for safety management will only make the NCU experience better for our students”
Woods is a Minnesota native and NCU alumnus. After serving four years in the U.S. Marine Corps, as a machine gunner and two combat tours, Woods came to North Central and majored in Intercultural Studies. He has 10 years of private security experience, working most recently as a Security Director for a school.
“North Central instituted its model—a highly trained student security force working under a staff leader—in the 1990s,” Robertson said. “We’re proud of the excellent service hundreds of students have provided and know many have taken their training into their careers. However, we felt it was time to elevate our security personnel to a 24/7 professional staffing model. We’re confident this move will ensure every single student, employee, and campus visitor is taken care of and feels safe in our community within the city.”
Woods begins his new role on May 17.
