Charlie Noffsinger, Penn State University Police and Public Safety’s associate vice president, will retire at the end of the year, the university said on Tuesday.
Noffsinger, who officially retires from public service on Dec. 31, currently manages all UPPS operations, including the university’s police force and the department’s records, the physical security office and the office of Emergency Management. Additionally, he co-chairs the department’s Behavioral Threat Management team and spearheads Clery Act compliance efforts.
“AVP Noffsinger’s leadership has positively influenced the department and his contributions will have a truly lasting impact,” said Sara Thorndike, senior vice president for finance and business. “It’s been a pleasure working alongside Charlie, and I’m sure I speak for all on our team when I say that we are happy for his reaching this well-deserved milestone and accomplishment, although he will be missed.”
In a statement, Penn State applauded Noffsinger’s efforts throughout his six-year tenure with the university, including initiatives that centralized the university’s police force and created a diversity, equity and inclusion program within University Police and Public Safety.
Before arriving at Penn State in 2016, Noffsinger worked in a number of roles at the University of Michigan between 1988 and 2012, climbing from a security officer to the university’s deputy police chief. Noffsinger later served as the University of Hawaii at Mānoa’s public safety chief before accepting his current role at Penn State.
“I have been honored to lead in a department dedicated to serving and protecting the Penn State and surrounding communities with respect, professionalism and accountability,” Noffsinger in a statement. “I have full confidence that the exceptional leadership team within UPPS will continue this mission and the department will continue its work as an instrumental leader in innovative campus policing and public safety practices.”
Once Noffsinger retires, Wesley Sheets, University Police and Public Safety’s executive deputy chief of operations, will fill in as the department’s interim chief of police and public safety. Penn State will search for a permanent replacement to lead the department.
Sheets arrived at Penn State in 2013 as a police lieutenant and station commander. He became a district deputy chief of police in 2018 before receiving a promotion to his current position in 2021.
Noffsinger’s impending retirement will mark the latest personnel change within Penn State’s police department in recent years. In June 2021, Joseph Milek stepped down after two years of service as Penn State’s police chief — a position the university has not yet formally filled. Milek’s departure marked the second time a university police chief had retired in a five-year period.
Penn State police department is divided into six districts across Pennsylvania: northwest, southwest, central, southeast, northeast and University Park, each led by a district commander. University Police operates as an accredited, full-service police department with sworn officers who possess full law enforcement authority.
