IUPD Chief promoted

IU Police Department Chief Jim Kennedy has been nominated by President Bush to be U.S. Marshal for central and southern Indiana. Kennedy will leave the University if confirmed by the Senate in a process that will take at least a month.\nKennedy, 61, was recommended to President Bush by Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., in March.\nFederal marshals are responsible for enforcing orders of federal courts, transporting federal prisoners and capturing federal fugitives.\nThe Marshal\'s district, which has its headquarters in Indianapolis, covers about two-thirds of Indiana. Kennedy would head a staff of 23.\nKennedy worked as IU\'s police chief from 1977 to 1990, when he accepted an administrative job with the University. He left IU in 1995, working as Bloomington\'s police chief until 2000, when he again became IU\'s police chief.\nKennedy\'s background and experience made him a natural fit for IU\'s interim police chief, Terry Clapacs, vice president for administration and a longtime friend of Kennedy\'s, told the IDS in September.\n\"It just seemed like a natural way for Jim to finish out his career at IU,\" Clapacs said.\nKennedy\'s career in law enforcement began when he graduated from IU with a business degree and enlisted in the U.S. Army. After a two-year stint in the the Army, he retired as a colonel and returned to IU to study law.\nKennedy practiced law in Hammond, where he also served as deputy prosecutor and chief deputy investigator for the coroner\'s office. He began his professional career at IU in 1971. For the next 25 years, Kennedy worked for the University, taking a four-year break from 1996-2000 to serve as the Bloomington chief of police, deputy prosecutor for Monroe County and as chief deputy investigator for the Monroe County Coroner\'s Office.\nLittle did Kennedy know when he graduated 38 years ago that he would make such an impact on the law enforcement community, his peers and his students. \n\"Many of the people that I now have in my command I watched grow up,\" Kennedy told the IDS in September. \"They have stayed with us from when they were full-time students and part-time cadets, to come on as full-time uniformed officers through our academy here.\"\nKennedy co-founded the IU Police Academy in 1971. The academy has been recognized by the Indiana Law Enforcement Training Board, graduating more than 30 uniformed officers a year.\nCapt. Keith Cash, a graduate of the IU police academy, began working for IUPD after he graduated.\n\"I\'ve known Jim Kennedy both as a friend and as a boss, and he is the type of person that everyone enjoys working for: Goal-oriented, driven and lighthearted,\" Cash told the IDS in September.\nIUPD Lt. Jerry Minger said Kennedy often works side-by-side with his officers.\n"He's a great guy to work for," Minger said. "He's by no means a micromanager, but if problems arise he's not above looking into it himself."\nClapacs, who has known Kennedy for more than a quarter of a century, attests his devotion to his job and peers.\n\"He always seems to do the right thing,\" Clapacs said. \"He can find the humor in almost any situation and make the work environment more enjoyable.\"\nIn 1996, Kennedy couldn\'t resist the opportunity in Bloomington. He took a leave of absence from his administrative position at IU to be Bloomington\'s police chief.\n\"The cooperation I received from my staff, the personnel of the department, the backing of the mayor and the city council made being chief of Bloomington police one of the most enjoyable jobs I have ever had,\" Kennedy said.\nAlthough Kennedy has not always been part of the IU administrative staff, he has been a member of the teaching staff for the past 25 years. \nP320, Foundations of Criminal Investigation, has been a popular class at IU for years.\n\"One of my great loves is teaching,\" he said last September. \"I really enjoy the interaction with the students."