Promotions lead to leadership changes for Rowan Police Department

Six officers in the Rowan University Police Department were promoted to new positions during a ceremony held recently on the main campus in Glassboro.

Ushering in a new era for the department, Lt. Rachel Baum was promoted to lieutenant commander, officer in charge. Baum is the first sworn police officer to take the position and, also, the first female leader of the department.

Baum takes over leadership from Senior Director Reed Layton, who is retiring, according to Assistant Vice President and Emergency Management Coordinator Michael Kantner. Layton, who joined Rowan two decades ago after a 30-year career with the Glassboro Police Department, led Rowan Police in a civilian capacity, Kantner noted.

The promotions firm up the department’s command structure as Rowan Police officers continue to provide nationally accredited professional safety services to the University community, according to Kantner. Rowan Police has 35 sworn police officers serving campuses in Glassboro and Stratford.

“The Rowan Police Department is now led by a sworn police officer,” Kantner said, noting that the administrative changes reflect the progress the department has made since 1972, when campus had just two officers. “We’ve come a long way.”

An officer for two decades, Baum is a graduate of Michigan’s Calvin College, where she earned a degree in criminal justice. She started at the department as a dispatcher in 2004 and graduated from the Gloucester County Police Academy in 2007.

“I’m thrilled and lucky to be part of this team,” Baum said. “We have a great department with so much talent, so much drive and a collaborative attitude. It’s an honor to work with them. We will work as a team to take the department into the future.”

In addition to Baum’s promotion, Lieutenant Adam McCain was promoted to senior lieutenant, while Sergeant Frank Agosta and Sergeant Gregory Farrar were promoted to lieutenant.

McCain joined the department in 2008 as a security officer and was promoted to patrolman in 2008, the same year he graduated from the Camden County Police Academy. A graduate of Rowan College of South Jersey, he’s pursuing his bachelor’s degree from the University.

An officer for 16 years, Agosta earned his degree in law and justice studies from Rowan in 2007. He’s a 2008 graduate of the Camden County Police Academy. Farrar, also an officer for 16 years, is a graduate of the Gloucester County Police Academy. He earned his bachelor’s degree in law and justice studies, with a minor in psychology, from Rowan.

Two additional officers—John Conway and Brett Conway—were promoted to sergeant.

A 2003 graduate of the Ocean County Police Academy, John Conway joined Rowan in 2018. The U.S. Coast Guard veteran also was an officer for 17 years in the Borough of Newfield.

Brett Conway earned his bachelor’s degree in law and justice studies from Rowan in 2010. After serving as a Rowan security officer for three years, he joined the department as a patrolman upon his graduation from the Cape May Council Police Academy in 2014.

University General Counsel Melissa Wheatcroft administered the oath of office to each officer during the promotion ceremony in Boyd Recital Hall, which was crowded with family members and representatives from the law enforcement community, including the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office, the Gloucester County Chiefs of Police Association, the Gloucester County Women in Law Enforcement Association and the Glassboro Police Department.

The Rowan Police Department has been a leader in law enforcement and public safety excellence for decades.

In 2011, it was the first department at a college or university in New Jersey to earn advanced law enforcement accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA). The department has earned CALEA re-accreditation four times, which is unprecedented in New Jersey. CALEA accreditation requires departments to adhere to the same standards as the finest law enforcement agencies in the nation.

Rowan Police also is accredited by the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators. And, in 2015, the department was the first at a state college or university to require officers to wear body cameras.

In his remarks, Kantner saluted Layton for his vision to move the department forward as Rowan continues to grow.

“He foresaw the changes we have needed to enhance all of our safety and security services,” Kantner said, lauding Layton for his 50-year career in law enforcement.