Yet another critical part of Millikin’s community will not be here in just over a week.
This time, it is Chris Ballard, Director of Public Safety, who announced his departure a few weeks ago.
Ballard, who has held his position since May of 2011, is one of the most cherished parts of Millikin’s community. Not only does he serve as the head of the primary protector of Millikin’s campus and students, but he also carries out this role with a smile on his face, the students of the campus ever present in his mind.
I asked him what Ballard would miss most about Millikin, and a smile instantly came across his face.
“That’s easy,” he said. “The students. The one hang-up about my new position is the student interaction is completely different. It’s not like how it is here. I will miss the student interaction and getting to meet and interact with, and in some cases, mentor and guide the students.”
Ballard will be transitioning to Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in Springfield, where his role will look quite different from Millikin’s campus.
“I’ll be taking the role of Associate Director of Public Safety,” he said. “I’ll be responsible for the police and security functions for the School of Medicine there, and then also emergency management for the entire School of Medicine system in the state of Illinois.”
This change will be a significant one, but Ballard looks forward to taking on the challenge.
“They started their search last year,” he said. “I applied, and I didn’t hear anything from them for several months, and they picked up the search again in the late spring, then they finally closed it out in the summer. I wanted a broadening challenge professionally. It will be a completely different environment. It’s multiple sites in multiple areas of the state, so it’s a bigger professional challenge.”
Ballard’s departure will leave a large hole in an extremely important position at Millikin. His position will be filled temporarily, with a permanent successor to be announced at a later time.
“They are conducting a search for a permanent replacement,” Ballard said. “In the interim, the former Assistant Director, David Beasley, has agreed to return on an interim basis.”
Ballard will be greatly missed. The impact that he has made in his tenure at Millikin will be difficult to replicate. Southern Illinois University School of Medicine is getting a great leader and role model.
