Humboldt State University has completed the open forums for the two candidates for the next Lieutenant within the University Police Department. Each forum provided the opportunity for our campus community to hear from the candidates, ask questions, and learn more about their approaches to leadership. The recordings are now posted at:

The UPD Lieutenant Search Committee encourages all students, faculty & staff to review each recording and provide feedback. If you were able to attend the open forum, but unable to provide feedback, here is a direct link to the form: Lieutenant Open Forum Feedback. 

The recordings and feedback form will be available until Friday, June 18 at 5 p.m. 

Lieutenant Candidate – Sergeant John Packer
Humboldt State University Police Department
To view the recording, please visit this link: June 14 – John Packer 

Twenty-six years ago I left the outdoor manufacturing and sales sector and began a career in law enforcement with the Arcata Police Department. I transitioned from private sector training and experience in organizational communication to public service sector law enforcement. I served the city of Arcata for ten years. I currently serve as a sergeant at Humboldt State University.  

Over the past ten years, I narrowed my focus down to three arenas; supervision and training at the operations level, administrative duties, and critical incident response.

Lieutenant Candidate – Lieutenant Peter Cress    
Humboldt County Sheriff's Office
To view the recording, please visit this link*:  June 15 – Peter Cress 

*Please note that there was a technical issue with the video portion of Zoom, so you will not be able to see the candidate but you will be able to hear him.

Please accept this letter of my interest concerning the open Humboldt State University Police Department (HSUPD) Lieutenant position. It was my pleasure to serve the campus community as an HSUPD police officer from 2001-2003. The course of my 23-year career took me on a different path and it would be my honor to return and serve once again. 

Concerning my personal leadership style, servant leadership comes naturally to me. My job in all circumstances would be to enhance and execute the chief’s vision and equip the people I serve to successfully serve the campus. Service to the chief would include well-reasoned, ethical, and lawful input. I can be trusted to get the job done well, on time, and with the people around me glad to have participated. That includes making hard decisions and holding people accountable. I genuinely care about the people I serve. Trust pays dividends. For instance, I have had numerous hard conversations with those I lead. I have utilized the full range of progressive discipline and had people thank me in most instances. On one recent occasion I had the opportunity to develop and successfully implement a performance improvement plan. On another occasion I counseled a consistently difficult employee concerning job performance. While the same conversation with previous managers had ended in mutual disgust, my conversation ended amicably and with improved performance. My hope is to bring the same positive and forward-facing attitude to the HSUPD. Thank you.