Tri-C Names Paul Willingham as New Chief of Campus Police

Veteran campus safety leader to begin role on Feb. 16

CLEVELAND — After conducting an extensive national search, Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C) will appoint Paul Willingham as its new chief of police and vice president of Campus Police and Security Services, the College announced.

Willingham will start the role on Feb. 16 and succeeds Clayton Harris, who served as Tri-C's chief of police for more than 30 years before retiring in October 2025.

With more than 34 years of dedicated service in campus law enforcement, Willingham brings a wealth of experience and a proven record of leadership to his new role.

"We are delighted to welcome Chief Willingham to Tri-C," said Michael Baston, J.D., Ed.D., president of Tri-C. "His extensive experience, commitment to public safety and visionary leadership will be tremendous assets to our campus community."

Willingham most recently served as chief of police and senior associate vice chancellor of Public Safety for the Lone Star College System in Texas, where he led a full-service police department of over 200 personnel, ensuring the safety and security of more than 105,000 students and employees across multiple locations. Prior to that, Willingham served as chief of police at the University of Houston-Clear Lake for eight years and spent 16 years with the police department at the University of Texas at Houston, where he held various roles in patrol, accreditation, security technology, dispatch, training and recruiting.

A respected instructor and thought leader in campus safety, Willingham is recognized for his expertise in active shooter response, leadership development, behavioral threat assessment, disaster mitigation and security technology integration. He is also a strong advocate for law enforcement accreditation and has served as an assessor for the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) since 2001.

Willingham earned a bachelor's degree in criminal justice administration and a master's degree in criminology. He is a graduate of the Leadership Command College at Sam Houston State University’s Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas and the Police Executive Research Forum’s Senior Management Institute for Police. In 2021, he served as president of the Texas Association of College and University Police Administrators.

January 20, 2026

MEDIA CONTACT: Anthony Moujaes, 216-987-3068 or anthony.moujaes@tri-c.edu