Gene Deisinger has been named Virginia Tech's deputy chief of police beginning Aug. 17. He currently is the associate director of public safety and deputy chief of police at Iowa State University.

As deputy police chief, Deisinger will assist the chief of the Virginia Tech Police Department in providing leadership, strategic planning, and administrative direction for the campus police department. He will oversee the daily operations of the department, which provides vehicle patrol, bicycle patrol, foot patrol, traffic law enforcement, traffic crash investigations, criminal investigation, dignitary protection, and crowd control at campus events.

Deisinger also will assume the newly created role of threat management director. He will oversee and coordinate university efforts for campus violence prevention and threat assessment.

In addition to serving as deputy police chief at Iowa State University, Deisinger has personally managed and supervised threat cases and protective details for a broad range of governmental dignitaries, public figures, and members of the university community.

Deisinger is co-author of the recently released, Handbook for Campus Threat Assessment & Management Teams, a practical resource designed specifically for institutions of higher education. He currently serves as a subject matter expert, consulting to the FBI, Secret Service and U.S. Dept of Education, regarding their joint study of targeted violence in institutions of higher education.

Deisinger is a licensed psychologist, a certified health service provider in psychology, and a certified peace officer. He worked in the Iowa State University student counseling center from 1989 to 1998 rising to the assistant director for clinical services. He earned his Master of Science and Ph.D in counseling psychology from Iowa State University, and Bachelor of Science from University of Wisconsin, Steven’s Point.

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