Syracuse University Public Safety Interim Chief Tony Callisto may have only recently joined the SU community, but he has quickly transitioned himself to the job.

Past and current colleagues describe Callisto as a hardworking, enthusiastic man who goes above and beyond the call of duty.

‘He is a very gregarious, outgoing fellow,’ said former colleague Dick Carbery, interim chief deputy for Onondaga County. ‘People like Tony really stand out in a crowd.’

The university hired Callisto in December 2005 as deputy director of Public Safety after his working for 25 years at the Onondaga Sheriff’s Office. When Marlene Hall left her post at SU to become chief at the Police and Public Safety Department at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Callisto was named interim chief deputy as a part of a leadership team comprised of Interim Deputy Chief Drew Buske and Assistant Director Donna Adams.

Though Callisto had only worked at SU for a few months, Eleanor Ware, the senior vice president of human services and government relations, said she had faith that his 10 years filling the position of chief deputy for Onondaga County had provided him with much experience for the SU job.

‘I had confidence he would do a terrific job, and he really has,’ said Ware.

Though new to Public Safety, Callisto is no stranger to SU. He received his master’s degree in public administration at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs in 1998.

‘A lot of what attracted me to this job is not only am I still a part of local law enforcement, but also my children are able to attend SU,’ he said. ‘It’s a great school.’

Callisto will hold his position until a permanent chief has been found, Ware said.

In preparing for the permanent chief position appointment, Ware said she will first be conducting a ‘360-degree evaluation’ on the leadership team consisting of Callisto, Buske and Adams. She said she plans to speak to students, faculty, administrators and major consumers of SU Public Safety to gather their opinions on Public Safety’s performance.

Once the evaluation is complete, she will decide on the scope of the search for the permanent role of chief. She estimated that a permanent chief will be appointed sometime in the upcoming spring semester.

Callisto said he plans on applying for the permanent position, but said he wants to prepare the Public Safety Office for whoever permanently fills the position.

His job has been made easier thanks to the support of Public Safety staff, Callisto said.

‘The department is staffed with some outstanding officers who, over the last year, have transitioned from being a security force to a law enforcement force,’ Callisto said, referring to Public Safety officers’ transition to peace officer status, which began January 2005.

The transition to peace officer status, or officers who can issue tickets and carry guns, will be complete at the end of the semester after a final group of seven officers finish recruit academy, Callisto said. The academy begins its classes today.

Carbery listed Callisto’s stellar people skills as one of his strongest professional assets.

‘Because he is so knowledgeable and so likable, he is able to get the most out of his people,’ Carbery said. ‘He has such high goals and high integrity; he gets the people who work for him to strive to be like him.’

Callisto said he has plans for Public Safety this fall, such as focusing more on crime prevention.

Students may notice a more active presence of Public Safety officers in the off-campus neighborhoods, Callisto said. He said he hopes this will act as a deterrent to crimes that occurred last academic year and summer.

‘We don’t want crime to happen at all, but we certainly don’t want it to happen in our neighborhoods,’ he said.

Syracuse Police, with whom Public Safety works closely, have also agreed to focus additional efforts in the SU area to deter crime, Callisto said.

Public Safety will host a ‘meet your Public Safety night’ on Sept. 11 to allow students to meet and discuss issues with Public Safety officers, Callisto said.

Public Safety will also begin office hours during meal times at Goldstein Student Center on South Campus where students can stop in and see an officer with any issue, concern or question, Callisto said.

They are also scheduled to work with resident advisors to issue crime prevention techniques.

Callisto stressed that students themselves are a critical factor in helping Public Safety best protect the university. He urged any one who sees something they find suspicious to call Public Safety to check it out.

‘Public Safety is really a community effort,’ said Callisto. ‘We can patrol the grounds and the near neighborhoods, and we can do our best to deter crime and respond when an incident occurs. But the most important people are students and faculty. It needs to be a team effort between the members of our university community and Public Safety.’

Published on August 28, 2006 at 12:00 pm