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A permanent spot for the interim chief
YOUNGSTOWN
Youngstown State University’s interim police chief earns a permanent top spot.
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 with a $90,000 annual salary.
YSU announced the appointment to campus Monday after a search that included campus interviews.
Varso has been with YSU police department since 1996, initially on an intermittent basis, and then he moved up through the ranks. He has served as interim chief of the department since April 2016.
“Not a lot of people can say they have worked for one police department for their entire careers,” Varso said, saying he was honored to have been chosen. “To start from the ground up is just so humbling.”
“Chief Varso is an experienced, respected law-enforcement officer with an outstanding record of service,” Shannon Tirone, associate vice president for University Relations says in a university news release. “We look forward to his continued leadership.”
The chief position was open since former Chief John Beshara was placed on administrative leave in April 2016. The university had questions about Beshara’s use of his work vehicle and said it would not renew his contract. Beshara retired May 31.
Varso is looking forward to making “lasting changes” in the police department.
Some of those changes include improving communication with the campus and surrounding community.
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.