CWU Police Lieutenant Promoted To Captain

ELLENSBURG, Wash. - Central Washington University department of public safety and police services Lt. Kevin Higgins has been promoted to the rank of captain, according to Steve Rittereiser, assistant vice president for business auxiliaries and public safety.

"Captain Higgins has consistently and successfully accepted challenges throughout his career," Rittereiser says. "This promotion recognizes his increasing responsibilities as a police manager and public safety administrator."

Those will include further fiscal oversight and greater responsibility for long-range planning, on top of his currents duties overseeing the department's patrol functions, investigations, parking services. He is also the university's primary liaison with other criminal justice agencies.

Higgins started his 29th year in law enforcement last September; 28 of those years have been at Central. He has served "with distinction," according to Rittereiser, as a patrol officer, detective, detective sergeant and lieutenant.

"He's the only lieutenant that the department has ever had," Rittereiser points out. "He is everything we would want in a capable, trusted police administrator. His efforts over the past few years have placed him in a category equaled by few."

In 2004, Higgins received the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators (IACLEA) award for administrative excellence. The annual award is presented to an employee of an IACLEA-member campus public safety, police, or security department for outstanding service in areas such as policy and planning, investigations and/or crime prevention.

Higgins also serves with Central's diversity council and co-chairs the campus sexual violence commission.

He is a graduate of the Michigan State University School of Criminal Justice.

Contact: Steve Rittereiser (509-963-2959/fax 509-963-2994/e-mail: chiefr@cwu.edu)

Public Relations and Marketing: (509) 963-1493