Sarah Fox
Managing Editor
Pacific Lutheran University (PLU) has a new Campus Safety Director. José Cureil Morelos began work this summer, bringing 18 years of security experience on 10 college campuses to the position.
Morelos replaced Tara Simmelink, a contract worker from the Pierce County Sheriff’s department and director of Campus Safety at PLU since 2019.
Morelos graduated from Western Oregon University, majoring in criminal justice, according to a news release sent out by PLU’s Campus Life Office.
After graduating, he started working as a police officer in Marion County, Oregon.
In 2011, Morelos began working as the assistant director of the Public Safety Department at Linfield University in Oregon. He most recently worked at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon as director of Campus Safety.
“The more I did the job at Campus Safety, I realized that was my calling because I was making a difference,” said Morelos. He went on to say that knowing his impact on the campus community and in students’ lives made him want to pursue a career in Campus Safety.
Morelos’s approach to Campus Safety is education-focused, concentrating on teaching student workers why the rules and safety procedures were in place.
He found at his previous position at Linfield University that this education-focused approach was helpful not only to the students, but also the professional staff.
“We started speaking the same language. The students started to see us as a resource, so when things came up that they weren’t sure about they would ask us.”
He plans to implement this same approach in his new role at PLU.
“It’s really important to me for students to see Campus Safety as a resource… not just someone to get them in trouble,” he said.
One aspect of PLU Morelos was initially interested in was the university’s “community of care.”
One of nine children, Morelos was born in Mexico and traveled to the U.S. with his family as a young child. He is the first person in his family to graduate from high school and college.
Noting there are many first generation students at PLU, Morelos said he “wanted to be a resource for those students.”
“Feedback is important,” he said. He encouraged students to reach out to him via email at curielmorelos@plu.edu if they have any questions or comments.
Campus Safety does much more than enforce the rules of campus, according to Morelos. They assist students and staff with lockouts, give courtesy rides and walking escorts, and are the first responders to incidents on campus.
“I really hope to be a good leader at the Campus Safety department and represent the department well.” Morelos said he wants to reach out to the community during his time at PLU to develop partnerships with local high schools and Keithley Middle School in particular.
Keithley Middle School’s principal gave a presentation on the PLU campus August 18 about how to engage with middle school students in various situations on campus.
The presentation covered strategies and gave campus employees and residents “more tools in their belt” to address situations that may arise.
Morelos will in turn visit Keithley Middle School at the beginning of the year to address the students. He will talk about resources students may need while on campus, how to stay safe, and rules of being on campus.
Campus Safety is working to incorporate a few changes for the coming year. For example, they are changing their vehicle designs to make them more distinguishable from other PLU campus vehicles.
The library parking lot is being fenced off in an attempt to mitigate risk to students, faculty, and staff of the university from patrons of a nearby bar, Morelos said.
“I’m very excited for this new opportunity. I look forward to welcoming the students and their families, and being here and helping out in any way I can.”
More information about Campus Safety can be found at plu.edu/campus-safety
