Press Release
Utah State University has named Blair Barfuss as chief of police within the Department of Public Safety following a rigorous national search. He will assume the position on July 5.
Barfuss joins USU after serving as chief of police and director of public safety at Dixie State University (Utah Tech University) for the past four years. He holds a master’s degree in human resources from the Huntsman School of Business at USU and is a graduate of the prestigious FBI National Academy. He has over 20 years of experience in public safety and service in Utah. With the recent restructure in the USU Department of Public Safety, Barfuss will report to Michael Kuehn, the executive director for the department and a former police chief at USU.
“Chief Barfuss brings a wealth of experience to USU, particularly in areas of concern that receive a great deal of attention in higher education: student mental health and sexual violence,” Kuehn said. “Under Blair’s leadership, Dixie State was one of the first campuses to embrace the ‘Start by Believing’ campaign to support victims of sexual violence.”
USU has participated in the Start by Believing campaign since April 2018.
Barfuss has received international and local recognition for his transformational policing service model, which is focused on building community partnerships, embracing diversity and providing transparency to the campus community.
“This Aggie is beyond excited to have the honor and privilege of getting to work with and support our Utah State University students, staff, faculty, administration and our great Aggie community,” Chief Barfuss said. “I look forward to the many opportunities ahead in bettering our service capabilities and improving safety campus wide at Utah State University.”
Prior to his work in St. George, Utah, Barfuss served in the West Valley City, South Jordan and Midvale City police departments.
Barfuss has also served in roles as training unit commander, patrol commander, SWAT team leader, homicide investigations supervisor, officer-involved critical incident team leader, major crimes investigator, child sexual abuse/special victims’ investigator and community services officer. He is cross deputized as a federal agent with the FBI and has worked for the past seven years as a member of the Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force.
The chief of police serves as a primary resource and adviser to the university on matters related to law enforcement and is responsible for the comprehensive operations of the university’s police department. The chief leads and directs all functions of university police on the Logan and Eastern campuses, with the goal of providing a peaceful and safe environment for the university community.