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Maureen S. Rush, M.S., CPP In December 2021, after twenty-seven years of service to the Penn and West Philadelphia Communities, Maureen retired from the University of Pennsylvania as its longtime Vice President for Public Safety/Superintendent of the Penn Police. She joined the Division of Public Safety in 1994 as the Director of Victim Support & Special Services. Maureen then served as the Chief of the Penn Police Department from 1996 through 2000. She was appointed Vice President for Public Safety at the University of Pennsylvania in 2000. As the CEO of the agency her duties included directing the tactical and strategic focus of the Division of Public Safety and all aspects of Law Enforcement, Safety and Security Technology, and Emergency Preparedness. She was responsible for managing a budget of over $27 million dollars and encompassing eight departments totaling 181 Penn employees and over 550 Allied Universal Security Officers. Maureen and her team were responsible for all Emergency Preparedness and Crisis Planning for the University. During her tenure the Penn’s Police Department evolved into a model campus law enforcement agency, continually meeting the challenges faced by an urban university, while at the same time strengthening its relationships with the Penn and West Philadelphia communities, and with the City of Philadelphia. With 121 sworn police officers, the Penn Police Department is the largest private police department in the state of Pennsylvania. In March 2001, the Penn Police Department was awarded national accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA), thereby, becoming the first nationally accredited campus police agency within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. In 2016, Maureen received the Egon Bittner Award for Excellence in Leadership of a CALEA Accredited Law Enforcement Agency for 15 consecutive years. Prior to coming to the University of Pennsylvania, Maureen had a distinguished eighteen-year law enforcement career with the Philadelphia Police Department from 1976 through 1994. Maureen rose through the command ranks and served in various positions, namely: the Patrol Division, the Anti-Crime Unit, the Narcotics Unit, and the Training Bureau. In 1976, she was one of the first 100 women police officers hired to serve the City of Philadelphia on “street patrol” in a pilot program directed by the United States Department of Justice. Women now comprise twenty-two percent of the Philadelphia Police Department, with approximately 1,363 officers, as a result of that successful pilot program. Maureen currently serves as the President of the Philadelphia Police Foundation, Vice Chair of the Philadelphia Police Athletic League, and Director on the Clery Center Board. Maureen holds a M.S. degree from the University of Pennsylvania in Organizational Dynamics. She completed the John F. Kennedy School of Government, the Northwestern School of Staff & Command, and the FBI’s Law Enforcement Executive Development Program. She holds a Certified Protection Professional (CPP) certification from the American Society for Industrial Security (ASIS) International Professional Certification Board. Maureen co-chaired the University of Pennsylvania’s Penn’s Way Workplace Giving Campaign from 2003 through 2022 raising over $20 million dollars for organizations and communities in need throughout the Philadelphia region. |
