Campus Security Chief Pat Cunningham is retiring after serving a decade as the head of Belmont Security.
“I’ve enjoyed my 10 years here,” Cunningham said. “I’ve seen care and compassion demonstrated countless times since I’ve been here.”
Cunningham’s retirement will wrap up a 48-year career in law enforcement and public safety on May 10.
Although, it was still a hard decision because he cares for Belmont students as his own, he said he looks forward to making memories with his own grandchildren.
“You’ve got to slow down sometimes,” Cunningham said. “Now’s the time to switch hats to full-time grandpa.”
During his time at Belmont, Cunningham focused on constant growth with officers, including certifying new department trainers and adding new ranks to the chain of command.
He also wanted to give students a safe college experience and accomplished a lot of what he set out to do, he said.
“I’m just a random student, but he made time to meet with me and was actually very open,” sophomore Kayla Willmann said. “Now whenever I see him around campus, he waves.”
Prior to joining Belmont, Cunningham worked security at both Vanderbilt and Colorado Universities in security which aided a lot of his work here at Belmont.
“I needed to have that experience there to be better fit here. If I would have come directly
from Vanderbilt, I don’t think I would have been a good fit at all,” said Cunningham.
Belmont will now have to seek out a replacement for Cunningham’s decade of experience.
“Anything that we need to be successful as a campus he goes in there and fights for it for us,” said Belmont Campus Security Capt. Corey Thompson. “That next person is going to have some big shoes to fill.”
Cunningham’s impact on Belmont will continue past his tenure, as his mentorship over security staff means his influence on the department will keep reaching students.
“He taught me personally how to be better,” Belmont Security Capt. Jakob Emanuelson said. “And helped create an atmosphere and department that truly cares about the Belmont community.”
Cunningham’s leadership and presence will be missed at the department, but he said he believes the officers are ready to succeed after his departure later this semester.
“If I were hit by a meteor tomorrow, they could continue on flawlessly,” said Cunningham.
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This article was written by Matt Sinofsky and Elisabeth Gage