Dawn Daniels sworn in as WSU Police chief

Dawn Daniels, a longtime member of the Washington State University Police Department, was sworn in as chief of police Friday afternoon.

Surrounded by family, friends, coworkers, and members of the university community inside the Holland and Terrell Library atrium, Daniels was officially appointed as the next leader of the department by WSU President Elizabeth Cantwell.

"I'm delighted to have this transition happen early in my career, so Dawn Daniels and I will walk together though a number of years at this institution," Cantwell said.

She added, "I know that Dawn embodies all the qualities that are necessary," noting that Daniels is widely respected for her reliability, her approachability, her deep understanding of the WSU community, and her ability to work with university administration.

After the swearing in, Daniels thanked her colleagues and members of the WSU community, including Cantwell and outgoing WSU Police Chief Gary Jenkins, for their support as she ascends into this new role.

"To everyone here and to those who have reached out to me, your support has been overwhelming," Daniels said.

Longtime Coug

Daniels' time as a Coug dates back to 1991, when the Alaska native enrolled to pursue a career as an architect. After three years, Daniels realized it wasn't the career for her, and more or less had to start over.

Her second career ambition was to become a social studies teacher, with Daniels finishing her degree in December of 1997. Shortly thereafter, an opportunity to teach outside of a classroom presented itself.

In the wake of student unrest in the spring of 1998, the WSU Police Department sought to do more educational programing and relationship building within the residence halls. Daniels was one of two officers hired to do that work.

"I didn't necessarily look at it as a career," Daniels recalled. "Someone said I'd be good at it and I figured it'd be a good job for a while, but once I started, I realized this was essentially an opportunity to teach in a different way on a college campus."

Looking back, Daniels admits her law enforcement career seemed predestined. She has relatives on both sides of her family with law enforcement and corrections backgrounds.

Daniels excelled in her role as a community liaison officer for the first decade of her career. In the years that followed, Daniels became a corporal, then a sergeant and administrative sergeant, taking on responsibilities ranging from firearms instructor to coordinating active shooting training and helping teach the Cougs Help Cougs bystander training program.

In 2022, the department brought in new leadership, with former Pullman Police Chief Gary Jenkins installed as WSU's chief of police. Daniels became assistant chief, and got to learn first-hand from someone with decades of law enforcement and community engagement experience.

"Gary's been such an awesome mentor to work with," Daniels said. "It's a big jump from sergeant to administration. You have to look at the department as a bigger picture, and he has been fantastic about showing me how to be a humble leader and the importance of sitting back and listening."

Daniels added, "I've also received tremendous support during this transition from Executive Vice President Leslie Brunelli and Associate Vice President of Public Safety Vicky Murray."

The start of the fall semester is always a busy time for the department, which has to manage its regular day-to-day obligations while also staffing large-scale events like home football games and convocation. She'll be joined in her work by new Assistant Chief Harry Smith, who was also introduced to the WSU community during the event

After years of serving the WSU community, Daniels knows full well how special it is.

"It's a family here at WSU," Daniels said. "I've always enjoyed what I do and getting to work with the people here. Go Cougs!"