Winthrop University is undergoing a number of changes, most notably a change in leadership at the top. The Winthrop University Police Department is also in a period of transition with their top leader following the recent retirement of Chief Ken Scoggins.
An email was sent out to students on Jan. 22 announcing the retirement of Scoggins, as well as informing the student body that Winthrop alum and WUPD Lieutenant Charles Yearta would be taking over as interim assistant chief. In the email, Vice President for Student Affairs Sheila Higgs Burkhalter said that Scoggins “chose to depart without the usual fanfare.”
According to Burkhalter’s email, the university was beginning the process of searching for an assistant chief and that following the naming of Yearta as interim assistant chief, a national search for the positions of chief and assistant chief would be underway.
Yearta emphasized the fact that WUPD will continue operating as normal during this period of transition, largely due to the structure of ranking within the department.
“Because we’re in that organizational structure, it’s always understood that underneath the chief, that person knows how to do the chief’s job. Underneath the assistant chief or major, that person knows how to do their job,” Yearta said.
Yearta said that WUPD’s assistant chief retired in September and that following the retirement of Scoggins, he began to “take up the slack for the most important things.”
“Even with this change in leadership — which isn’t uncommon — the patrol is the backbone of any police department and at Winthrop University, that is the backbone. Those are the guys you see in the marked cars and the uniforms, driving around, taking care of business [and] being visible,” Yearta said. “Nothing has changed there at all. Everything is status quo, and we’re going to keep doing business the way we’ve done business. As far as the duties the assistant chief and the chief were doing, I’ve taken over a lot of them. Some of them I’ve doled out where we can, but for the most part it just makes my day a little bit more [busy].”
While finding the right person for the job can take time, especially when searching on a national scale, Yearta said that filling the vacant leadership roles is a priority for the university.
“VP Burkhalter has made it very clear that the police chief role is vital here — it’s a major role. She’s going to be thorough, and she’s going to do a national search, but it’s not something the university is going to drag their feet on. Ideally, we would like to see someone in place [by the] end of this semester [or] summer, no later than that is what we’re assuming. We will have somebody in place before the start of fall semester. It’s a different level than obviously a presidential search like we’re going through also, but it won’t be something that takes that long,” Yearta said.
In the email that was sent to students, Burkhalter said that the university is “confident” in Yearta’s leadership and described some of the work he has done over his 12 years with WUPD as well as some of the accolades he has received.
“[On Jan. 21] at Staff Conference he was recognized for being a stabilizing force in the department during leadership transitions,” Burkhalter said.
Photo provided by Winthrop University
