FSU Names Director of Emergency Management/ Chief of Police
Fairmont State University has named Jack A. Clayton as Director of Emergency Management/Chief of Police. This position and the Department of Public Safety, for which Clayton will provide leadership, provide services to both FSU and Pierpont Community & Technical College.
Clayton has served as Security Manager at Fairmont General Hospital since 2008, when he retired from the public safety service. He was employed as Director of Public Safety for the City of Bridgeport from 2003 to 2008 and as Chief of Police for the City of Bridgeport from 1981 to 2008. He has also been Administrative Assistant to the Chief of Police for the City of Fairmont and a police officer for the City of Fairmont.
"Jack's extensive experience in the fields of law enforcement and public safety administration will serve the FSU and Pierpont community well. As a Fairmont State alumnus and long-time adjunct instructor in criminal justice, Jack is already familiar with the campus environment," said Dr. Tom Krepel, FSU President. "A major focus of this position is emergency operations planning, training and management, and I am confident that Jack will provide effective leadership in this area."
Clayton graduated from Fairmont State in 1971 with a Bachelor of Arts in Education. He took graduate courses in public administration from West Virginia University. In 1997, he graduated from the Rural Executive Management Institute, National Center for Rural Law Enforcement, at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. In 1998, he graduated from the Federal Bureau of Investigation Law Enforcement Executive Management Program. Clayton has also completed a variety of police training programs related to police tactics and procedures, community policing, personnel management, supervision, administration, instructor development, crisis intervention, conflict management, firearms, defensive tactics, incident command/management, CPR/First Responder and basic computer literacy.
"I am very honored for the opportunity to serve Fairmont State University and Pierpont Community & Technical College. Both academically and through a long affiliation as an adjunct faculty member, my experiences at Fairmont State significantly prepared and guided me during my service as a law enforcement officer and public safety administrator. To serve now as the Director of Emergency Management and Chief of Police is the culmination of my career and a distinct privilege," Clayton said.
Clayton has many years of experience with the FSU and Pierpont community. In 1974, he prepared the initial curriculum proposal for a law enforcement associate degree program in what was then the community college component of Fairmont State. The program was approved, and he served as a part-time instructor. In 1976, he was employed full-time as Director of Public Safety for the community college and was responsible for academic programs in law enforcement, fire science and emergency medical services. During that time, he also prepared and submitted a curriculum proposal for a four-year program in criminal justice, which became part of the Department of Social Sciences at Fairmont State. He served as coordinator of criminal justice. From 1978 to 2007, Clayton served as an adjunct instructor of criminal justice.
Clayton's professional affiliations include the following: life member, former state representative, International Association of Chiefs of Police; member and former member of the board of directors of the West Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police; former state representative for FBI CJIS Advisory Committee; member and past president of the North Central West Virginia Law Enforcement Council; commissioner and board of directors member of the Harrison County Bureau of Emergency Services (E911); member of the Police Policy Development Committee for the West Virginia Criminal Justice & Highway Safety Division; member, North Central West Virginia Airport Authority; and member, Marion County Rescue Squad Board of Directors. He is a Secondary, Adult and Police Training Instructor for the state; and a licensed private pilot for single engine aircraft.
Clayton is married to Susan Engle Clayton, who is also a Fairmont State graduate. They have a blended family of five adult children who have all attended or graduated from Fairmont State, and they have four grandchildren.
Jack ClaytonChief of PoliceDirector of Emergency Management
