John Foster has been promoted to assistant vice president for public safety and chief of police, according to university spokesman Greg Fallon Oct. 17.
Foster, a 30-year veteran of the Ball State University Police Department, succeeds Jim Duckham, who retired Aug. 30 after nine years as director of public safety and chief of police.
"John has devoted his life to understanding the complexities of policing while taking steps that continually learn and improve upon past performance," said Ro-Anne Royer Engle, Vice President of student affairs. "I look forward to working with John as we strive to enhance the quality of life for Ball State students while optimizing the effectiveness of our police operations."
Foster earned both his bachelor's (criminal justice, 1996) and master's (Public Administration, 2022) degrees from Ball State and joint the University Police Department in 1993 as a reserve officer, holding police officer, sergeant and lieutenant ranks within the department before being promoted to chief. He also served as supervisor of the Investigations Division of the department and serving on Delaware County's drug Taskforce and the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Joint Terrorism Task Force as a sworn special deputy U.S. Marshall.
“Since beginning my law enforcement career with the Ball State University Police Department, I have taken seriously our mission of providing a safe living and learning environment on campus and throughout Muncie and the east central Indiana region,” Foster said. “I believe that to be successful in this position, our agency must continue to forge positive relationships with those we serve. To do that, we will actively seek opportunities to meet and engage with our community partners and strive to solve problems objectively and with compassion for others.”
Interim Director of Public Safety and Chief of Police Al Williams has returned to his role as associate director of public safety and assistant chief of police, according to Fallon.
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