November 03, 2022
Meet Chad Carnegie, chief of public safety
By Vicki-Ann Downing ’21G
Chad Carnegie is the associate vice president and chief of public safety at Providence College. He came to PC in April 2022 from Georgetown University, where he worked for the college police department for 11 years as a lieutenant, patrol sergeant, and patrol officer.
Under his leadership, PC’s Office of Public Safety began the process to seek accreditation for the first time from the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators. The process is expected to take about four years.
Carnegie’s goal is to raise awareness of services the Office of Public Safety provides beyond security and enforcement — drug and alcohol awareness, crime prevention tips, how to reach out if you’re a student in trouble.
During the First Day in Friartown advising days in June 2022, Carnegie and his officers welcomed new students and their parents at the resource fair, offering free gear displayed on a tablecloth bearing the office’s insignia.
“I talked with parents to ease their fears,” Carnegie said. “I told them I’m starting new just like your child is, but I’m not new to college life.”
In fact, Carnegie has spent half his 22-year professional career working with college students and half as a police officer in Palmetto, Fla. Unlike at Georgetown, PC officers are not sworn police officers. They collaborate with Providence police on security and neighborhood issues and are trained to respond to mental health crises and sexual assaults. They also receive diversity and anti-bias training throughout the year.
Before the fall semester in 2022, Public Safety offered an information session to remind off-campus students about the importance of locking doors when they leave their apartments and not walking alone late at night — “so they know we care about them,” Carnegie said. The Friar Nite Ride off-campus shuttle service, which provides students with transportation on weekend nights, was expanded.
To build community, at the suggestion of Lt. David Marshall, the Office of Public Safety served free pizza to students, faculty, and staff on the Slavin Center lawn.
Carnegie grew up in Bradenton, Fla. He has a bachelor’s degree in public administration from Barry University and a master of professional studies degree in emergency and disaster management from Georgetown, which included study in Qatar. He enjoys cooking, travel, playing softball, and watching baseball and football. His favorite teams are the Tampa Bay Rays and the San Francisco 49ers, though he has Buccaneers season tickets. He doesn’t like winter weather.
Carnegie came to Rhode Island seeking a challenge.
“I did pray on it,” he said. “There is a reason Providence was calling me.”
