By Sarah Campbell
scampbell@salisburypost.com
SALISBURY ó A retired law enforcement official will lead Rowan-Cabarrus Community Collegeís security overhaul.
The college hired Tim Bost as the director of campus of safety and security Thursday.
Bost, who retired from the Rowan County Sheriffís Office as a major in June 2009, is being brought on board in the newly created role to help streamline the collegeís armed and unarmed security forces. His annual salary will be $57,500.
ěHe has a wealth of experience and expertise from many years as second in command for the Rowan County Sheriffís Office,î President Carol Spalding said Thursday. ěHis degrees and numerous certifications, as well as his keen knowledge of our college through his work with our Basic Law Enforcement Training program, also make him well qualified.î
Bost, a sworn law enforcement officer, has been working as a part-time security officer at the school for more than 30 years.
ěHe knows our service area extremely well and will contribute to keeping our campuses in Rowan and Cabarrus counties very safe,î Spalding said.
Bost, who was hired as one of the collegeís first security officers in 1978, said he was interested in job because he sees it as an opportunity to ěraise the bar of professionalism in security on the campuses.î
When Bost begins the post Jan. 9 heíll take a look at the safety and security assessment the college had done by Risk Management Associates, a Raleigh-based security consulting firm, earlier this year.
ěOne of the biggest things I certainly want to start looking at is coordination of our services because there are multiple agencies involved,î he said.
Bost said heíll also focus his efforts on improving the consistency of record keeping at the collegeís multiple campuses and providing regular trainings for both armed and unarmed officers.
ěThose are some of the initial things Iím going to look at,î he said. ěOne of the things where we have a little deficit is a comprehensive crisis management plan.î
A crisis management plan would include security issues such as an active shooter on campus and safety threats like fires and tornados.
Bost said officials have already been working on the plan and heís hoping to help them get it wrapped up within a year.
But Bost said his No. 1 goal is in line with college officials.
ěThey are taking security very seriously,î he said. ěThey want to maintain the safest campuses they possibly can because the goal is for students to come to class and not be worried about their safety. Thatís really my greatest objective.
ěI would like to think that anything I contribute will make people feel safe when they come to the college.î
Contact reporter Sarah Campbell at 704-797-7683.
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