Texas State names Matthew Carmichael as next Chief of Police

Staff Reports

SAN MARCOS – After a national search, Texas State University has chosen Matthew Carmichael as the next Director and Chief of the University Police Department.

As part of his 37 years of experience in law enforcement, Chief Carmichael has 19 years of direct experience leading police departments within large, diverse, public institutions of higher education. He will begin his role on January 10, 2021.

Chief Carmichael is currently the Chief of Police at the University of Oregon (UO) where he has served since 2016. In this role, he has overseen a police department of sworn police officers, full-time community services officers, support staff, student employees, and a security operations center. Much like Texas State, the UO Police Department provides services for two campuses and various off-site facilities.

Chief Carmichael also served more than 14 years at the University of California Davis (UC Davis) in a leadership role with the last five years as Chief of Police.

While at UO and UC Davis, he has built close relationships with students, student organizations, faculty, and community members; formed liaisons with local apartment managers, business owners, and student affairs professionals; created a national leadership course in partnership with a District Attorney and a Rabbi in San Francisco; and partnered with local communities to implement community police oversight.

In accepting the position, Chief Carmichael said, “After many visits to Texas State over the years and now having the opportunity to meet members of the campus community through the search process, this truly feels like coming home for me. I look forward to serving our Texas State community and rejoining my family in Texas.”

Chief Carmichael is the founder of the Leave No Victim Behind Conference series which focuses on serving victims of mass violence. The program is a collaboration between first responders, victim advocates, district attorneys, and survivors to advance victim services and provide for safe communities through advocacy, research, outreach, and collaboration.

“Based on extensive feedback from the university, Chief Carmichael’s experience and character is a great match for Texas State,” said Eric Algoe, Vice President for Finance and Student Services at Texas State. “During an open session on the San Marcos campus, Chief Carmichael expressed a dedication to respecting and promoting diversity and inclusion throughout his career. He described his experience implementing a preferred-name practice at UC Davis and a desire to see the diversity of campus mirrored within UPD and university staff. He also expressed a commitment to building better personal relationships within the police family and between UPD, underrepresented student organizations, the student body at large, faculty, and community members.”