History of the UNA Police
Campus Cops Richard Bunn (right) and Trainee Paul Knight (1961)
The Florence State College Police Department began when Richard Bunn was hired in January, 1956 as the first campus policeman. The 1956/1957 school year at Florence State College marked a banner year for enrollment at the College. The student body had just passed the 1500 mark, and the need for a police presence on campus became apparent. Then, as now, parking was a common problem for the College, and Officer Bunn headed up the Campus Traffic Committee.
Florence State College continued to grow, and in 1961 another officer was added to the force. The Florence State College Police remained at two officers until 1969, when the institution became Florence State University
Officer Ray Wood, 1964
The Florence State University Police Department was increased to four officers, and remained that way until 1975/1976 when the University of North Alabama was born. At that time H.L. Emmons was named Chief of the Department, and shortly thereafter, the police department was downgraded to a security force.
STANDING: Hobson Richardson, Officer BJ Sharp, Officer Donald Terry, Officer William Maddox, Officer Joe Quigley
SEATED: Security Chief HL Emmons (1977)
Sergeant Billy Joe Sharp, 1972
In August, 1981, Chief H.L. Emmons retired from the University and Mr. Durrell Mock, former football coach for the University was appointed as the Chief of Security. Through the years the University continued to grow and in 1993 Richard Deter was hired to lead the department through another transitional period, and the department became known as the Department of Public Safety.
In 1999, Jim Glasso took over as the Director of Public Safety after a meritorious career at Yale University. In 2010, the Department of Public Safety was renamed the University of North Alabama Police Department, and Bob Pastula took over as the Chief of Police, after retiring from the United States Marshals Service.
PUBLIC SAFETY: Row 1: Danny Clark, Ashley Hobson, Shequanda Adkinson, Linda Allen and Les Jackson. Row 2: David Bradley, Bobby Inman, Director Jim Glasso, David Maddox and Carl Watters (2003)
THE CHIEFS
1975-1981:H.L. Emmons, was Director of Security for the University of North Alabama. During Director Emmons' tenure as Director, the Security Department of the University of North Alabama grew from 2 officers to 5 officers
1981-1993:Durell Mock was appointed as Director of Security after serving the University as it's football coach from 1970-1973
1993-1999:Richard Deter was appointed as the Director of Public Safety for the University of North Alabama. In 1999, Director Deter left to become the Chief of Police at the University of North Texas
1999-2010:Jim Glasso, took command of the Department of Public Safety, coming from Yale University. Under his leadership the department created the North Alabama Law Enforcement Training Center, and employed innovative patrol techniques using bicycles and Segway's to maintain watch over the University community.
2010-2015: Bob Pastula was appointed as the Chief of Police for the University in October 2010. Bob came to UNA after retiring from the U.S. Marshals Office.
2015-2019: Kevin Gillilan was appointed Chief for the University in July of 2015. Kevin came to UNA having been in law enforcement for 19 years, and Chief at two departments prior to UNA.
Current Chief of Police- 2019-Present:Arnold Jackson was appointed Chief for the University in 2019. Arnold has worked for the University Police Department since 2002.
POLICE HEADQUARTERS:
From 1973 - 1991 the headquarters for the University Police Department was located in the basement of Keller Hall. In 1991, the police department moved to its current location on the east side of campus, at 706 Waterloo Road. The police department headquarters was moved in mid 2011, when the renovations of Keller Hall will be completed, and the basement of Keller Hall currently houses the University Police Department, and the University's Emergency Operations Center.
In mid 2011, the UNA Police Department moved to the basement of Keller Hall.
