Former Chief of Police at The Ohio State University, and retired Columbus Division of Police lieutenant, Craig Stone, has been hired as Deputy Public Safety Director at the Columbus Department of Public Safety.

Stone fills a vacancy created when Kate McSweeney Pishotti was promoted to Deputy Chief of Staff in the office of the mayor in December.

“Craig brings a breadth of experience to Public Safety,” said Public Safety Director Ned Pettus, Jr.

“He is well-respected within the community and the Division of Police. I look forward to his perspective on building community engagement and increasing diversity within Police and Fire.”

Stone returns to Columbus after serving as Executive Director of Public Safety and Chief for the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He served as Chief of Police at Ohio State from 2016-18. He was Director of Campus Safety and Chief of Police at Cleveland State University from 2015-16.

Stone retired from the Columbus Division of Police in 2014, after 29 years with the Division, including 13 years as a lieutenant in Homeland Security, Internal Affairs, Staff Inspections and Patrol.

“I am excited to return to Columbus and work on Mayor Ginther’s priorities of increasing diversity in Police and Fire and continuing to build community relations,” said Stone