After serving the College of William and Mary for eight years, Associate Vice President for Public Safety and Chief of Police Deborah Cheesebro announced her plan to retire at the end of the spring 2023 semester. Cheesebro’s retirement marks the end of her 52-year-long career devoted to public service, including 22 years in university police administration.
2023 marks Cheesebro’s ninth year at the College. She arrived in Williamsburg in 2014 as the College’s first female Chief of Police. Cheesebro was then elevated to Associate Vice President for Public Safety and Chief of Police, integrating environmental health and safety, risk management and emergency management with the police department.
“When I first came in, I did a lot of work in changing the culture of the police department, focusing on on the quality of what we do, focusing on meeting the needs of the community, even if that meant that we worked outside of the normal realm of law enforcement and took a broader approach to policing and meeting community needs,” Cheesebro said. “Over the years, taking that tack meant that I was pretty hands-on in some things, especially when I first got here, and in doing that, being very intentional about team-building within the department. I always think that a police department will go out and treat the community in a way that they’re treated within the agency. So I always start here.”
With a department of about 30 members, including 24 sworn police officers, Cheesebro noted how proud she is of the community-based culture her team has fostered at the College.
“Everything we have done is, I think, was for the right reason at the right time. I think being a fair and impartial police agency has always been a constant in my mind no matter where I was. To me, there’s no excuse for treating anybody other than with dignity and respect. And I think that for all three positions in the universities, I was able to clearly send that message and build a staff who also believed in it separately,” Cheesebro said.
“Everything we have done is, I think, was for the right reason at the right time. I think being a fair and impartial police agency has always been a constant in my mind no matter where I was. To me, there’s no excuse for treating anybody other than with dignity and respect. And I think that for all three positions in the universities, I was able to clearly send that message and build a staff who also believed in it separately,” Cheesebro said.
In her time in university law enforcement, Cheesebro has worked across three campuses. Before coming to the College, she spent five years at the University of Michigan Police Department and nine years at the University of North Carolina School of Arts Police Department.
Originally from Framingham, Massachusetts, Cheesebro has had a strong work ethic since she was 16 years old and working at her local grocery store. Her first full-time criminal justice job was in juvenile justice as a youth coordinator. Working all throughout her educational path, Cheesebro received her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from West Virginia State University and her masters in criminal justice with an educational concentration from Michigan State University. She earned a Ph.D. in organizational behavior and development with a concentration in human resources from Union Institute and University.
“There’s a high bar here, and I wanted to be part of that,” Cheesebro said. “I think these eight and a half years I have really cherished that … being among the best of the best because it challenges you every day … you come in and say, ‘How can we be better today? How can we do more for the community?’”
The fall 2022 semester was particularly difficult for the College community. The campus community has been in mourning after the deaths of two students. Furthermore, the campus community endured a shelter in place following an anonymous social media threat.
“Student deaths are the most difficult issue that I deal with personally or professionally. And the same is true for the rest of the team here,” Cheesebro said. “The national, state, regional incidents that have been occurring take a toll on everybody. I would tell the students, faculty, staff, the whole community that you have a very dedicated group of people here that, day in and day out, work to keep them safe no matter what.”
Cheeseboro addressed that the College’s Police Department is constantly training and discussing what they can do to keep the community safe, including debriefing incidents from other areas to study what other teams did and what was effective. She noted that during graduation, she becomes especially reflective.
“Graduation is always my favorite time of the year. We like to think that for every happy graduate, that we had some small piece of keeping them safe when they were here. In partnership with them. And it is a partnership, and I would emphasize that to the students as well. Because it takes all of us to create a safe community,” Cheesebro said.
“Graduation is always my favorite time of the year. We like to think that for every happy graduate, that we had some small piece of keeping them safe when they were here. In partnership with them. And it is a partnership, and I would emphasize that to the students as well. Because it takes all of us to create a safe community,” Cheesebro said.
The relationships built with students have been Cheesebro’s favorite part of the job. Between participating in Kappa Delta’s Campus Golf philanthropy event and the pre-COVID-19 campus food fight, Cheesebro has always found the student interactions as some of her most memorable moments. One of her favorite memories on campus was when William and Mary Police Department handed out free beverage tickets to every student in Earl Gregg Swem Library during finals week, wishing the students good luck and reminding them to take study breaks. Cheesebro said she will truly miss continuing to build trusting relationships with students and helping them through any fears or issues they may have, however she is leaving comfortably knowing the campus safety is in good hands.
“It is a good time for me, personally and professionally,” Cheesebro said on the timing of her retirement. “I know I’m leaving a department that is in excellent shape.”
“It is a good time for me, personally and professionally,” Cheesebro said on the timing of her retirement. “I know I’m leaving a department that is in excellent shape.”
Upon her retirement at the end of the academic year, Deputy Chief Don Butler will replace Cheesebro as the Interim Associate Vice President for Public Safety and the Chief of Police. Butler has been part of the College’s Police Department for over ten years, since 2012.
Reflecting on her nearly six decades in law enforcement, Cheesebro spoke about what it means to be a police officer today.
“This would be advice to anybody in this field. Don’t think you’re better than the community you work for … It doesn’t matter who you’re dealing with, whether it’s a student, a faculty or staff member or a city person who might be homeless. The goal should always be the same, and the way you treat everyone should be the same. And again, and I sound like a broken record sometimes, but the baseline of treating everybody with dignity, courtesy and respect, to me, is sacred. And to anybody going into this profession, that’s what’s expected. That’s what makes an effective officer,” Cheesebro said.
Cheesebro and her husband plan on spending half of every year with her son and two grandchildren in Michigan. She is looking forward to quality time with her biological family after leaving what she calls her “work family” and the College community.
