The University of Arizona’s first female police chief and its provost departed their roles amid elevated safety concerns from faculty members after a professor was shot and killed in October 2022.
UA President Robert Robbins announced on Monday that Paula Balafas, chief of police, immediately stepped down from her position while Liesl Folks, provost, will end her role at the end of the school year but remain on staff as a “faculty member of Electrical and Computer Engineering.” The turnover follows criticism from faculty members who allege that the administration did not do enough to prevent former graduate student Murad Dervish from threatening, and eventually shooting, professor Thomas Meixner in October, according to the Associated Press. (RELATED: University Fires Professor Arrested For Allegedly Shooting, Killing Incoming Freshman)
Balafas’ email confirms she is no longer affiliated with the university as of Monday afternoon, according to a response automatically sent in response to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment. The email attributes the turnover to “some restructuring at the University of Arizona.”
Dervish is scheduled to face trial in September and has not pleaded guilty, according to AP. He reportedly sent threatening messages to Meixner and other professors before the shooting.
University Of Arizona Professor Shot And Killed By Former Student A professor at the University of Arizona was shot and killed by a former student. https://t.co/ioicVETEvv
— News Radio 96.7 (@NewsRadioNH) October 6, 2022
A third-party investigation found that the threat management team did not operate effectively and, as a result, minimal communication left faculty and staff to “handle the Subject in their own manner,” according to the report released in March. It concluded that “the university and its leadership [are] responsible for making sure that reports from the community are assessed properly and timely to ensure public safety.”
The UA Faculty Senate voted “no confidence” in Robbins, Balafas and Folks during a March meeting, AZ Central reported. The faculty demanded the administration “demonstrate progress towards a comprehensive risk management system and accountability by specific personnel actions in the Senior Leadership Team, University of Arizona Police Department, Office of General Counsel and Dean of Students Office” in its resolution.
Oro Valley Police Department’s Field Services Division Commander Chris Olson will replace Balafas on a temporary basis while UA looks for a permanent hire, Monday’s announcement read. The university will continue to implement 33 recommendations provided in the March report to bolster campus safety, one of which included the creation of the Office of Public Safety which the police department now reports to.
Folks did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this story cited The Associated Press, which reported that the University of Arizona police chief and provost were fired. The Associated Press has since updated its story to report that they chose to step down from their positions. This article has since been updated accordingly.
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