Purdue News

June 22, 1999 Veteran officer named Purdue police chief WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Linda J. Stump, a 14-year officer with the Purdue University Police Department, has been appointed chief of police. She currently is captain of the department's Patrol Division. Her appointment, effective July 1, was announced today (Tuesday, 6/22) by Bill Coghill, director of Purdue Safety and Security. He also has held the title of police chief since his appointment in 1997, but he now will focus on administrative and long-range planning for the departments that report to him, which, in addition to the police department, include the Purdue Fire Department, Fire Protection and Special Services, and Parking Facilities. "Linda Stump is a very capable and professional law-enforcement officer who has distinguished herself in a wide range of appointments in the department," Coghill said. "I know she will bring high levels of enthusiasm and commitment to the police chief position. I look forward to working with her in her important new role." Coghill said Stump will be the first female police chief in Tippecanoe County. Stump, a Lafayette native, holds a bachelor's degree in criminal justice and corrections from Ball State University and a master's in higher education administration from Purdue. She graduated from both the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy and the FBI National Academy. She began her law-enforcement career in 1984 as an Indiana State Police trooper and joined the Purdue department in 1985 as a patrol officer. She subsequently served as a detective sergeant and detective lieutenant before her captain's appointment last year. Stump has been a member of Purdue's Task Force on Women's Issues, Partners in Prevention (the Purdue sexual-assault prevention program) and the Tippecanoe County Domestic Violence Task Force. She also has served on the board of directors of the Tippecanoe County Child Abuse Prevention Committee, and she is a certified instructor in firearms, family violence/child abuse, and the Comphotofit computer-enhanced criminal images program. Source: Bill Coghill, (765) 494-8221 Writer: Greg Zawisza, (765) 494-2086; greg_zawisza@purdue.edu Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu NOTE TO JOURNALISTS: A black-and-white photograph of Linda Stump is available from the Purdue News Service, (765) 494-2096, or at the PurdueNews ftp site. To the Purdue News and Photos Page