After 36 years in law enforcement, Chief of University Police Leo Mioduszewski is retiring.
His last day of work at SVSU will be Friday, June 28.
Mioduszewski began working in law enforcement in Otsego County before transferring to Mancelona. In 1990, he began working for Central Michigan University (CMU), where he served as a police officer, sergeant and later a canine handler.
“When I was at CMU, I ended up starting a community policing program where we had officers working a lot closer with students than they had in the past,” Mioduszewski said. “I also wrote the proposal and got (a) canine for CMU, which was the best program we started not only because of the good drug work the dog did, but, more importantly, the students loved her.”
Mioduszewski’s innovations in police work continued when he was elected sheriff of Isabella County in 2004.
“In Isabella County, I started a victim’s services unit, where people were trained to deal with people that were given tragic news,” he said. “They would stay with a grieving loved one until family members or close friends could get there. We never left anyone alone again.”
In 2015, Mioduszewski began serving as police chief at SVSU because he missed the community atmosphere of universities.
“I had 14 years at CMU, and I really enjoyed working with students, faculty and staff,” he said. “I missed the energy that a university has. There is always something going on, and it’s an enjoyable atmosphere.”
In his last year at SVSU, Mioduszewski has worked to earn accreditation for the University Police Department and has helped solve the department’s communication issues.
“The department is in a really good position right now,” he said. “We are going to be accredited very shortly, and we are purchasing repeaters for each of the patrol cars, which will give us better communication anywhere on campus.”
Repeaters will boost signals so officers can better hear each other while they are in different locations around campus.
Mioduszewski has no concrete plans for his retirement, although he is looking forward to having some time off.
“Right now, I’m going to take the summer off, relax, and I’ll be doing a lot of golfing,” he said. “I don’t really have any specific plans.”
University Police Officer Ryan Persails enjoyed working with Mioduszewski.
“He always kept things light with everyone and always had a joke to tell if things were stressful,” Persails said. “He was always fair and made us feel like we were competent when doing our jobs.”
Persails thanked Mioduszewski, who will be missed by the department and the campus community.
“Leo has had a long successful career at CMU, Isabella County and SVSU,” Persails said. “He will be missed in the law enforcement community.”
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