GCSU names Wesley Hardin new director of Public Safety and Chief of Police

Georgia College & State University welcomes Wesley Hardin as its new director of Public Safety and chief of Police.

Hardin will join GCSU’s Department of Public Safety Dec. 1, after 28 years of law enforcement at Tallahassee Community College (TCC) in Florida, where he currently serves as chief of police.

 “I am very excited about naming Wesley Hardin as the new director of Public Safety and chief of Police,” said Lee Fruitticher, vice president for Finance & Administration. “The extensive experience in law enforcement and community policing that he brings, coupled with his extremely positive attitude, will fit well with not only our campus community but also the Milledgeville community at large.”

At TCC, Hardin was responsible for the safety and welfare of 12,000 students, as well as multiple properties and campuses in three counties. Prior to that role, Hardin served in diverse capacities in local, county and K-12-based agencies in Georgia. He was a deputy sheriff in Cartersville; a police officer in Duluth and Lawrenceville; and a police lieutenant in Doraville, Georgia. He also worked as a school resource officer in Suwanee, Georgia.

Hardin got his BA in criminal justice from St. Leo University in Florida and his master’s in public administration from Columbia Southern University in Alabama. He is currently enrolled in the School of Police Staff and Command at Northwestern University in Illinois.

Hardin has a reputation for community policing and positive engagement with the public to improve police and community relationships. He’s skilled at conflict resolution, behavioral intervention and emergency preparedness.

“I’m very excited to be joining the GCSU family,” Hardin said. “I feel truly blessed to be able to come home, to continue doing what I love and do it at GSCU.”

 “GCSU is a special place. I’m looking forward to partnering with the staff and students to bring community-oriented and student-engaged services to GCSU to provide a safe, secure, and welcoming environment,” he said.

Hardin replaces former Chief of Police Brett Stanelle and Nikki Renfroe, who has acted as interim director of Public Safety at Georgia College since February.