Varso named YSU's next police chief

YOUNGSTOWN — Shawn Varso, a native of Youngstown, graduate of Youngstown State University and a 21-year veteran of the university police department, has been named chief of police effective May 1.

YSU announced the appointment today after a search and campus interviews.

Varso served as interim chief of the department for the past year.

The YSU Police Department has 24 full-time commissioned officers, certified by the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy. The department, with a budget of $3 million, also has 69 active, part-time commissioned officers, eight full- and part-time dispatchers and 18 student employees.