Dear Members of the Brown Community,

We are pleased to share that, after three months serving in an interim capacity, Col. Hugh T. Clements Jr. has been named Brown’s vice president for public safety and emergency management and chief of police. His formal appointment to the role is effective today, April 8, 2026. He succeeds Rodney Chatman, whose employment with the University ended this month after five years of service.

Since coming to lead the Department of Public Safety and Emergency Management (DPSEM) on Dec. 22, 2025, Chief Clements has helped guide Brown toward becoming a secure campus defined by preparedness, vigilance and mutual care. He brings deep experience to Brown after leading a distinguished 38-year career with the Providence Police Department, including 12 years as chief of police, and directing the federal Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) for the U.S. Department of Justice. He is nationally regarded for his expertise in community-oriented policing.

Chief Clements brings an extraordinary combination of Rhode Island law enforcement leadership, national policy experience and a deep commitment to community-centered policing that position him to effectively lead public safety efforts at Brown. Over an accomplished four-decade career, he has consistently advanced innovative, data-driven strategies that build trust while enhancing safety.

As vice president and chief of police, Chief Clements is responsible for leading Brown’s fully functioning police department, which patrols the Brown campus to protect safety, deter crime, build community relationships and respond to calls for assistance. He oversees preparedness, education, inspection programs and coordinated emergency response. He also is charged with setting direction for university-wide initiatives that promote campus well-being, safety and security, while also ensuring DPSEM services are delivered at the highest standards of professionalism, accountability and operational excellence.

Chief Clements joined our community at a difficult time — in the aftermath of the events of Dec. 13 — and already has been deeply immersed in all aspects of his role. This includes supporting the physical safety of the campus community and university assets, strengthening institutional resilience, and advancing business continuity in the face of known and emerging risks. 

Another central responsibility is serving as a visible and engaged leader across campus and within the Providence community. Chief Clements will continue to actively partner with students, faculty and staff to build trust and strengthen relationships, while also collaborating closely with local, city, and state public safety partners. Through regular engagement, the vice president and chief is responsible for helping to identify opportunities to enhance policies, programs and practices that support a safe and welcoming campus environment.
 
Chief Clements will continue to serve as a member of Brown’s senior administrative leadership as he advances this important work. He will have reporting lines to both our positions — primarily to the executive vice president for finance and administration, with a dotted line to the president. He serves as a member of the President’s Cabinet, underscoring the University’s commitment to clear accountability, leadership continuity and a sustained focus on campus safety at a time when safety is a critical part of healing and recovery for the community.

As we continue to navigate toward a stronger, more resilient and sophisticated campus safety infrastructure, it’s essential that we simultaneously ensure that Brown is still Brown, a teaching and learning community devoted to being a place where all can thrive. Chief Clements is well positioned to serve as a critical leadership voice as we work collectively to determine what it means to be a campus that effectively balances robust security measures with sustaining a welcoming community. In his time at Brown, he has demonstrated his capacity and commitment to leading a modern campus safety department grounded in collaboration, transparency and service.

We encourage you to read more about Chief Clements’ professional background below and in the University’s news announcement about his appointment on the brown.edu website. We are excited to have his continued service to Brown, and we hope you will welcome him as he formally accepts his appointment as a member of our community.

Sincerely,

Christina H. Paxson, President
Sarah Latham, Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration

More about Chief Clements

A Providence native, Col. Hugh T. Clements Jr. began his public safety career as a night patrol officer in the Providence Police Department in 1985. Over the next 17 years, he rose through the ranks, working in Providence’s Special Investigations Bureau and Detective Bureau, where he played active roles in multiple major investigations. He later served as deputy chief and acting chief and in 2012 was appointed the 37th chief of the department and promoted to the rank of colonel.

In his 12 years as chief, he implemented data-driven and community-oriented strategies to reduce crime, enhance trust and improve public safety in Rhode Island’s capital city. He also partnered with local, state and federal agencies to address complex challenges such as opioid abuse, gang violence and civil unrest.

In his decades in Providence, Clements partnered with leaders from Brown’s public safety department in circumstances ranging from preparation and training for potential emergencies to planning for major events, to responding to and investigating incidents that impacted the campus and its surrounding neighborhoods.

From 2023 to 2025, Clements supported the work of law enforcement agencies across the nation as director of the U.S. Department of Justice COPS Office, which advances community-policing programs through grant funding and technical assistance to help local, state, tribal and territorial law enforcement keep their communities safe and build relationships of mutual trust and respect with the people they serve.

Among many accomplishments, he executed a relaunch of the office’s Collaborative Reform Initiative, directed the critical incident review of the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, and advocated for national recruitment and retention resources before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee.

Before his interim appointment at Brown, Clements served previously as a visiting fellow at the University’s Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs from 2018 to 2023, sharing insights and best practices on policing and leadership with scholars, students and practitioners.

Clements is the recipient of numerous commendations for outstanding police work and devotion to duty over the course of his career. In his 38 years with the Providence Police, he was recognized with the department’s Chief’s Award three times and received letters of commendation from outside agencies including the FBI and the U.S. Attorney General’s Office, among many other law enforcement agencies. During the tenure of President Barack Obama, Clements received the White House Champions of Change Award for Reducing Drug Use and Building a Healthier America.

He holds bachelor’s degrees from Roger Williams University (administration of justice) and the University of Rhode Island (sociology) as well as a master’s degree in criminal justice from Boston University. Clements also completed a flagship program certificate at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and holds a wide variety of law enforcement certifications.