Galloway, N.J. — It’s ironic that Tracy Stuart has spent most of her law enforcement career at a place in the middle of the Pinelands National Reserve.

Stockton University’s new police chief isn’t a fan of the forest.

“I don’t care for the woods as a whole with all the bugs and things like that,” she said. “But I do love working here.”

The 53-year-old Ocean County resident was sworn in Sept. 4 by Stockton President Joe Bertolino as the university’s newest top cop.

“Congratulations Chief Stuart and thank you for accepting this important assignment to lead this important transition for the university,” Bertolino said at the swearing-in ceremony. “It certainly will not be easy, but from the get-go, you’re our person to lead, and we knew that right away.”

Stuart thanked the audience — which included her mother, Cynthia, and her mentor and retired Stafford Township Police Chief Thomas Conroy — that had gathered for the president’s biannual address to staff in the Campus Center Event Room.

“I’m eternally grateful for your support and trust, for feeling valued, for feeling like my vision is something that you visualize as well,” Stuart said. “We’re going forward, and we’re all coming together. When we go forward, our students go forward, or university goes forward. It’s a ripple effect. That’s the goal.”

After the swearing-in, Conroy said that Stuart always tells him how important the university community is to her.

“If there was anyone who’s a dedicated Stockton employee, it’s Tracy Stuart,” said Conroy, who was joined at the ceremony by his daughter, Katlin, and his wife, Mary. “If my family were coming here to go to school, I’d be proud and I’d feel safe knowing that Chief Stuart was going to make sure that my family was safe.”

Her devotion to Stockton is also clear to Don Hudson, Stockton’s senior vice president for Facilities and Operations, and who oversees the Stockton Police.

“I’ve known Tracy for over 11 years, and she has shown nothing but the highest level of professionalism,” Hudson said. “I’m really looking forward to working with her for years to come.”

When Stuart started at Stockton in security in August 2007, becoming chief of police hardly entered her mind.

“To rise through the ranks and have such tremendous support from so many wonderful people to entrust me with being the chief of police, it’s really a proud moment for me and my parents,” she said. “It shows that it you work hard, you will be rewarded.”

After getting her bachelor’s degree in Criminology and Justice Studies from The College of New Jersey, Stuart began her law enforcement career as a Class I and Class II officer in Avon-by-the-Sea in Monmouth County. She loved how the seaside town was family oriented.

“You had an opportunity to socialize and engage with families and young kids and get to know them,” she said. “I knew, early on, that I liked that family setting, so when Stockton was hiring, I thought it would be interesting to work in an agency that was pretty small and also they were big on community engagement — getting to know the students, faculty and staff.”

So, she took a chance on campus policing — something she had never considered before — in search of that “whole family vibe.”

“People know each other here. People care about each other and the students here,” said Stuart, who received a master’s degree in Instructional Technology in 2017 and a doctorate in Organizational Leadership in 2021 at Stockton. “If I have the opportunity to positively impact the youth of today so that they can be successful and essentially take care of us tomorrow, then that’s something that makes me fulfilled.”

As Stuart rose through the Stockton Police Department ranks, she became a fixture on campus through classroom presentations on emergency preparedness and educating students how to protect themselves on campus.

She also brought national recognition to the Stockton police by becoming a K-9 handler. From 2011 to 2020, Stuart and her partner Hemi, a chocolate lab, became an exceptional team, winning back-to-back detection dog titles with the United States Police Canine Association National Detector Dog Trials in 2018 and 2019. Hemi retired in 2020 and was replaced by Freya, a golden retriever. Stuart and Freya continued to receive national accolades by winning another USPCA title in 2022.

The Stockton Police K-9 team is part of the New Jersey Detect and Render Safe Task Force and provides assistance in explosives detection operations both locally and statewide. Stuart said she will continue to serve as Freya’s K-9 handler, but she hopes to have an additional K-9 team added to the department.

As the new chief, her main priority is recruitment and retention. She wants to increase personnel numbers and bring the department that’s currently at 18 sworn officers “up to its highest potential and highest standards so we can be the best versions of ourselves and be the best department to serve this community.

“Parents entrust us with their kids ‘en loco parentis,’ year after year, so we have to meet and exceed their expectations,” she said.

She also emphasized that everyone in the department will provide what she calls VIP service:

• Visibility: “People want to see us. We have to be out and about so students feel safe.”
• Interactions: “People want to get to know us. They want to interact with us.”
• Preparedness: “I have to make sure my officers and other personnel have the tools and equipment to do the job.”

Stuart wants to foster a positive culture within the department, so everyone can feel the same way she does about Stockton University.

“People say it’s a job, and yes I get a paycheck, but it’s so much more than that,” she said. “I believe that when you are passionate about something, it helps you do your job even better. I want to help boost morale so that people have the desire, not just the tools, to do their jobs and strive to be highly proficient.”

— Story by Mark Melhorn, photos by Susan Allen and Lizzie Nealis