Edwardsville NAACP honors SIUE police chief for hiring practices

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Police Chief Kevin Schmoll was honored this week for his minority hiring practices during the Edwardsville NAACP annual banquet

Schmoll has implemented the university’s commitment to a diverse work force and an inclusive community by adding four officers of color to the department during the past two years. Schmoll started a mentoring program where he advises African American and other SIUE criminal justice students to guide them through the hiring and testing process to become a law enforcement officer.

“I am honored to be receiving this award and also extremely humbled,” Schmoll said. “We are striving to create a police department that reflects SIUE’s diverse community.”

The banquet took place Sunday, June 3, in the Morris University Center’s Meridian Ballroom.

Schmoll was named SIUE chief of police on Oct. 1, 2013. A Red Bud native, Schmoll joined the SIUE department in 1994. He quickly moved through the ranks from patrolman to a detective for investigations to sergeant. He was promoted to lieutenant in charge of the SIUE patrol division in January 2005 before being appointed to chief.

Since becoming chief, Schmoll has implemented many new initiatives to help keep SIUE a safe campus: Rave e-lert messaging system, Rave Guardian App, SIUE Police webpage, SIUE Police Facebook page, Hostile Intruder Training for the University Community and Metropolitan Enforcement Group of Southern Illinois.

The SIUE Police Department is a community-oriented law enforcement agency comprising 43 sworn police officers and eight civilian employees. SIUE police officers are certified law enforcement officers with full investigatory and arrest authority granted by Illinois law. The SIUE Police Department is open and accessible to the university community 24 hours a day.

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville provides students with a high quality, affordable education that prepares them for successful careers and lives of purpose to shape a changing world. Built on the foundation of a broad-based liberal education, and enhanced by hands-on research and real-world experiences, the academic preparation SIUE students receive equips them to thrive in the global marketplace and make our communities better places to live. Situated on 2,660 acres of beautiful woodland atop the bluffs overlooking the natural beauty of the Mississippi River’s rich bottomland and only a short drive from downtown St. Louis, the SIUE campus is home to a diverse student body of nearly 14,000.

Photo: Front row (L-R) SIUE Police Officers Xac Vo, Kasey Hoyd and Linsey Rice.
Back Row (L-R) SIUE Police Officers Anthony Jones, Alphonso Shepherd, Kelly Waters and Chief Kevin Schmoll.