UAF's top cop to head up Alaska Police Standards Council
UAF’s top cop to head up Alaska Police Standards Council
Submitted by Terry Vrabec
Phone: (907) 474-6202
03/25/05
University of Alaska Fairbanks Police Chief Terry Vrabec will be leaving UAF this
spring to pursue a new career opportunity as executive director of the Alaska Police
Standards Council. Public Safety Commissioner Bill Tandeske made the announcement
this afternoon. As the executive director of the APSC, Vrabec will oversee training
issues for police, corrections, probation and parole as well as standards for Alaska
police training academies.
Vrabec received his bachelor’s degree from UAF in criminal justice in 1985, and after attending the Department of Public Safety Police Academy in Sitka, he worked as a police officer in Soldotna. In 1990 Vrabec moved to the Chicago area and worked as a crime prevention specialist in Evanston, Ill. Vrabec then returned to Fairbanks to take a position with the university police department in 1991 and was promoted to police chief in 1997. While with UAF, Vrabec has developed and implemented innovative community policing programs including the bicycle patrol program and placing community police officers in the residence halls. He has volunteered with numerous agencies including Fairbanks Crime Stoppers and the Fairbanks North Star Borough Parks and Recreation Department. He attended the FBI National Academy and is currently the state chapter president of that association. He represented the department in the Law Enforcement Torch Run program in Nagano, Japan where the team brought the "Flame of Hope" into the 2005 World Special Olympic Winter Games opening ceremony.
"Terry has been a major influence on the university police department," said UAF Chancellor Steve Jones. "He’s earned the respect of law enforcement around the state and as a UAF alumnus, his success shines a positive spotlight on the university’s criminal justice program. We wish him the best in this new endeavor."
Before heading to Juneau, Vrabec will receive his master’s degree from UAF in justice administration. Although Vrabec’s new position is expected to start May 2, he still plans to participate in the university’s 83rd commencement exercises at the Carlson Center May 15, 2005.
"It’s been 20 years since I received my bachelor’s," said Vrabec. "I wasn’t about to leave without walking across that stage and accepting my master’s degree. This new position is an incredible opportunity, but I will miss the terrific people I’ve worked with at the university, in law enforcement and in the community."
Capt. Sean McGee will serve as acting chief of police. McGee received a bachelor’s degree from UAF in criminal justice in 1991. He has worked for the North Slope police department and has been with the university police department since 1993. He graduated from the FBI National Academy in 2000 and is currently working on his master’s degree in justice administration, an online degree program offered at UAF since 2002.
