Chief Rainey’s Retirement
MAY 24, 2021
Kenton Rainey, Chief of Police for the University of Chicago Police Department (UCPD), will be leaving the University of Chicago effective June 30, 2021 and retiring from active law enforcement. Since his arrival in 2017, Kenton has been a stellar ambassador for the University of Chicago and its Department of Safety and Security and has worked tirelessly to enhance UCPD’s professionalism and community engagement.
Under Kenton’s leadership, the UCPD achieved dual accreditation through CALEA and IACLEA, worked to adopt many of the recommendations of President Obama’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing, and become one of only a few university police departments in the country to establish a Police Athletics/Activities League chapter with the goal of improving relationships with police and local community youth. I hope you will join me in thanking Kenton for his service and dedication to the University and its surrounding communities.
As a national search for our new Chief of Police begins this summer, Mike Kwiatkowski has agreed to serve as the interim Chief of Police for the UCPD effective July 1, 2021. Mike’s interim appointment will ensure that the day-to-day operations of UCPD continue without interruption while the search is underway.
Mike has been with the University of Chicago for 18 years and currently serves as the Department of Safety and Security’s Executive Director for Campus Safety. In that role he oversees the Campus Safety Division which includes an array of security services and physical security technology solutions. Prior to assuming this role in 2017, Mike worked for 14 years within the UCPD, rising through the ranks to become a Deputy Chief of Police and a highly regarded police command staff member with valuable experience in police operations and community relations.