Director of Public Safety Joe Wehner was replaced Thursday after Ball State President Blaine Brownell and Vice President of Student Affairs Douglas McConkey said they wanted to look to the future. Wehner served Ball State as the head of its police department for 12 years.
McConkey said he and Brownell have been discussing the future of the Department of Safety for a few weeks and a decision was made Wednesday.
"(Wehner) is no longer the director, and we are currently in conversation with him over what his situation will be," McConkey said. "At this point in time, he is still a university employee. We don't expect that he will be within UPD."
McConkey said it would inappropriate to make any further comment on his future role within the university.
Sergeant Gene Burton has taken over as the acting director of Public Safety. Burton has spent 21 years with University Police, starting as a patrolman. Burton, before becoming the new director, served as the Special Events Coordinator for UPD.
"We feel that this is a good time to bring in some new leadership," McConkey said. "We as a university have appreciated Joe's contributions; we have made some good advancements in public safety. We want to support him in anyway we can."
Wehner was the center of allegations of unethical practices made by former university police officer and criminal justice professor Eric Moore. In various letters sent to university officials by Moore, Wehner allegedly had UPD officer Michael Milbourn follow Moore's estranged wife to possibly catch her driving under the influence of alcohol.
McConkey said the decision to remove Wehner did not come from the advisory board that is currently evaluating the reports made by the Indiana State Police's investigation.
A group within the Department of Safety is in the process of a self-evaluation. McConkey said the self-evaluation is not a spawn from the state police investigation.
"The process of doing self-studies is something we have had for quite a while in Student Affairs," he said. "The timing of it is such that ... yes, what has been looked at, alleged and what we are concerned about has led us to say now is the time to do the self-study."
Wehner did not return calls made by the Daily News. Burton also was unavailable for comment.
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