UMass Boston

UMass Boston marked a milestone in campus safety with the ribbon cutting of its new Police & Public Safety Station on April 6.

University leaders say the new station, which has relocated to the upper level of the Service and Supply building, centralizes key operations, enhances overall effectiveness, and upgrades important systems, strengthening the department’s ability to serve the UMass Boston community.

“This station is a tangible reflection of the university’s commitment to campus safety, preparedness, and community wellbeing,” Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Karen Ferrer-Muñiz said.

The event brought together university leadership, public safety officials like Secretary of Public Safety and Security Gina Kwon and Colonel Geoffrey Noble of the Massachusetts State Police, and state partners to celebrate a project that unifies the university’s police and public safety operations under one roof for the first time in more than a decade.

“This is more than just a refurbished campus workplace,” Chancellor Marcelo Suárez-Orozco said in his remarks. “It is an investment in trust, visibility, coordination, and modern public safety that strengthens the university’s capacity to keep our campus community safe.”

The project addressed a long-standing challenge. Nearly 15 years ago, the department gave up a portion of its original station to accommodate the Integrated Sciences Building, resulting in operations split across two locations. The new station consolidates those functions into a single, purpose-built space designed to support efficiency, collaboration, and rapid response.

Chief of Police Stacey Lloyd framed the moment as both a milestone and a starting point.

“Today is not just a ribbon cutting. It is a declaration,” Lloyd said. “This is not just a building. This is a platform for impact—a bridge between agencies, a bridge between police and community… a bridge between who we are and who we are becoming.”

Lloyd highlighted the department’s vision to go beyond traditional policing by focusing on leadership, training, and innovation. The new space will support advanced instruction in areas such as dispatch operations, leadership development, and emotional intelligence—skills she emphasized as critical to the future of law enforcement.

“The future of law enforcement will not be defined by force alone,” she said. “It will be defined by thinking, communication, judgment, and humanity.”

The station reflects the university’s commitment to sustainability. Rather than constructing a new building, the project modernized existing campus infrastructure—an approach that avoided significant environmental impact. University officials noted the renovation prevented an estimated 265,000 metric tons of carbon emissions, aligning with the Commonwealth’s decarbonization goals.

This project was made possible by a Massachusetts state grant. Leaders across Student Affairs, Administration and Finance, Campus Planning, IT, Facilities, and numerous design and construction partners contributed to bringing the station to completion. Ferrer-Muñiz offered gratitude to a number of officials for their support including DCAMM Commissioner Adam Baacke, Boston City Councilor John Fitzgerald, representatives from UMass Amherst, the Medical School, and UMass Dartmouth Police Departments, and Ellenzweig, the project's architectural firm.    

Speakers expressed gratitude to the UMass Boston Police & Public Safety team for their service and leadership, especially during emergencies, and for their continued commitment to community-centered policing.

“This ribbon is not the end of a project,” Chief Lloyd said. “It is the beginning of a commitment. This is our moment. This is our vision.”