“When I heard that the opportunity was coming open to be a part of public safety, I thought it would be a dream job, to be part of UTM and hang out with the student body and be a part of the campus.” These are the words of Monte Belew, the new director of public safety here at UTM.
After serving his fourteen year as Henry County’s Sheriff, Belew left his fourth term early to join the UTM family. Belew, who has a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, has been in law enforcement his entire adult life and is no stranger to the campus.
“While I was going to school at UTM I worked for the Henry County Sheriff’s office part time. I graduated from Martin and then went to Jackson PD and worked for them.”
While his past at UTM did play a role in his interest towards the new position, the future of UTM was what really piqued his interest.
“Excitement, I guess would be the main way to say it. Chancellor Carver got the University headed in the right direction with new programs and exciting things, and who doesn’t want to be a part of exciting things?”
When asked about COVID-19’s effect on his position, he said it did not affect his willingness to come be a part of UTM, and he looks forward to experiencing more normalcy within campus.
“I think this pandemic is a terrible thing, but yet I think with everyone working together and doing the right thing we’re going to be able to overcome this and hopefully sometime in the near future this is going to be a thing of the past and we’ll be back having rallies and ropepull and football and everything we like to do here at UTM.”
He says that the biggest challenge is to keep everyone safe and continue the education process, but his biggest goal at the moment is improvement.
“The department of public safety is in a real good place, there are a lot of good men and women here right now and it’s headed in the right direction. I would just like to improve on any areas that we can.”
One improvement that people see could be done is to include more diversity within public safety, as it is currently a white, male department. Belew is looking to change that and says that they are hiring.
“As I come in, we have three vacancies right now and we are looking for applicants, so if you’re interested come see us. We will hopefully start the hiring process soon.”
Belew also assures that the Department of Public Safety is here on campus to provide just what it is called: safety. He wants every student to feel comfortable during their time here at UTM.
“I know it is a tough time in law enforcement nationally, but we, the UTM Department of Public Safety, want to be known as people that are going to help you. We are here for everyone. I don’t care who you are or where you came from, I’m here to help you and make your educational experience a better one.”
Belew is ecstatic to return to his alma mater and looks forward to not only meeting the student body, but protecting every student the best way possible. “I’m glad to be here and I’m excited about it. I know things are a little geared down right now and I’m just trying to figure out all the basics that I need to do, but I can’t wait to get to know everyone, faculty and students, across the campus.”
