Editor’s note: This story is part of a partnership publication between the Iowa State University Department of Public Safety and the Iowa State Daily to provide perspective about the status of safety on campus and the initiatives the department worked on in 2017. 

During the summer of 2017, ISU Police were getting ready for the fall semester. At the forefront of these preparations was building community and developing leadership. One of the solutions for Iowa State Police was changing the name of the police department’s Multicultural Liaison Officers (MLOs) to Engagement and Inclusion Officers.

“Engagement and Inclusion Officers is not just a name change — it’s a rebrand of what those officers are for,” Chief Michael Newton said.

Newton said one of the common things he was hearing from students, faculty and staff before summer break was confusion on the role of the police department’s Multicultural Liaison Officers when that was already a program developed within the academic departments.

“We really felt as we talked as a group and talked to faculty and staff and students that by having an Engagement and Inclusion Officer we were wrapping into the whole of the community,” Newton said.

The intent of the Engagement and Inclusion Officers is to provide outreach and assistance to all members of the Iowa State community.

The engagement aspect of the rebrand aims to establish a partnership with the community rather than just knowledge of the issues at hand. 

As for the inclusion portion of the rebrand, Newton and the police department want all students, faculty and staff to know they are there

for them.

“One of my visions is moving forward, building community,” Newton said. “And I can’t just build community with one segment of the population or pockets of the population.

The program is also being expanded, with more officers within the department filling the responsibilities that comes with the position, to provide more opportunities to interact with students in non-police settings.

“We want to engage the community differently,” Newton said. “And I also look at it as all of our officers need to be involved in engagement and inclusion — including the chief. I’m going to be out there going to events and talking to people because that’s how we build community and that’s how we have successful community engagement.” 

A Statement from ISU Police: 

The ISU Police Department Engagement and Inclusion Officers (formerly MLO’s) provide outreach and assistance to all members of the ISU Community. In consultation with a number of campus stakeholders, we made the decision to change the name from MLO to Engagement and Inclusion Officers to:

Establish an identity more closely aligned with the principles and practices of the community policing models used by law enforcement agencies nationwide. 

Avoid any confusion with the expertise or duties and responsibilities currently held by Multicultural Liaison Officers embedded in academic departments across campus.

Allow for expansion of the program from three to seven officers with additional officers to join in the near term.

Engagement represents our desire to be an active partner in improving climate and inclusion represents our belief that our entire community should be invested in cultivating an inclusive campus. We have established a formal partnership with the Office of Diversity and Inclusion to increase opportunities for interfacing with students in non-police-related settings.