VALDOSTA, Ga. (WALB) - Valdosta State University’s new police chief concludes his first month on the job.

In October 2024, the former VSU Police Chief Alan Rowe resigned after being placed on administrative leave earlier that year when several allegations of ethics violations surfaced. The complaint included reports of unethical or illegal behavior, such as a toxic work environment, including verbal abuse, discrimination, and high staff turnover within the department.

Christopher Hughes officially took over as VSU’s new police chief on May 1.

Last week, Hughes was sworn in, welcoming local law enforcement agencies to celebrate. Before coming to VSU, Hughes served as the dean of public safety at Georgia Piedmont Technical College in Clarkson for 5 years and brings more than 10 years of experience in higher education law enforcement.

“This was a dream come true for us. We get to come back home,” he said. “My wife and I are both from this area, and my wife is a graduate of Valdosta State University, so we’re super excited to be back in the community.”

He said he is looking to create a positive and supportive environment for officers.

“I think a strong foundation in servant leadership and situational leadership. I have to be able to provide what our officers need, and I think part of that is meeting them at their own level, and that’s where the situational part comes in. But ultimately,y we want to service our community and protect them,” Hughes said.

WALB News 10‘s Brittanye Blake sat down with him to learn more about his vision for the department as well as how he plans to build trust between the community and the campus.

Hughes said, “I will say it’s probably not my place to talk about the past but I will say this, I am really concentrated on the future and the present right now. The one thing I really believe in is the golden circle from Simon Sinek. We really gotta know our why and if we know our why we can figure out our how and what’s. Our why is about protecting, serving, and educating our student so it’s going to take me some time to go about how we go about doing that but luckily it’s the summer time so we have time to get this figured out before the semester starts in the fall.”

Chief Hughes plans to build relationships between the campus and community with his open-door policy.

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