Babcock promoted to Public Safety director

By Jake Tiger

When he was interviewing for a job as a Rider Public Safety officer, Matthew Babcock, seated across from the department’s then director, Vicki Weaver, looked at her and said he wanted to be where she was sitting in five years. That was in 2012.

While it may have taken longer than he initially planned, Babcock realized his goal 13 years later when Rider promoted the former Public Safety captain from interim to full-time director effective April 1, according to a March 28 universitywide email.

“Rider’s been home. [For] 13 years, half of my life, I’ve been here doing the Public Safety thing … countless hours,” Babcock said. “This is where I belong.”

Babcock began working at Rider in September 2012 as a Public Safety officer and eventually moved up to captain in February 2020. He also acted as assistant Public Safety director for the last five years, which he said made him more comfortable taking on the position. 

While working at the university, he earned a bachelor’s degree in law and justice from Rider in 2020.

Rider announced on Jan. 27, the first day of the spring semester, that former Public Safety Director James G. Waldon had resigned, and Babcock would serve as an interim director. The end of the message stated that Rider would “take time to evaluate a long-term plan for the Department of Public Safety.”

University Operations Vice President Mike Reca said, “When James [Waldon] left, I felt very strongly that Matt [Babcock] would be the guy. Knowing that not everyone is here forever, my hope was that we could take care of Matt in some capacity and have him more active in a leadership role beyond what he already had. … He’s been with us through all of the tough times.”

With an extensive history at the university, Babcock said he hopes to build genuine connections with students and make Public Safety feel like a real part of Rider’s on-campus culture, not just being one of many departmental cogs that keeps the university running.

“I’ve always had the vision of making Public Safety more ingrained in the community,” Babcock said. “I want to be more involved in events. I want people to see us out doing different things so people are more comfortable with us. … They’ll feel safer knowing that Public Safety is not just an entity that goes around locking doors. We’re actually here to support everybody.”

Reca said there were no plans to fill the now-vacant Public Safety captain position, as the university is looking for ways it can take a more modern, forward-looking approach to Public Safety. Reca said it could be described as a “soft reset.”

“We’re taking a step back and looking at it in a broader sense, rather than just, ‘This is the way we’ve done it for 30 years, and it’s still gonna work now.’ That doesn’t work anymore,” Reca said. “We’re playing things slow. … It’s just like a team: You want to play to everybody’s strength, so you want to put people in positions that enhance the vision that Matt [Babcock] and the university have for Public Safety. … Maybe we have a captain, maybe we don’t have a captain, maybe we have a different position.”

With Babcock’s vision of making officers more “approachable,” Babcock said Public Safety will be switching to a “softer” uniform of khakis and polos in place of its current police-like attire. 

Babcock said the department is hoping to become more involved in events like Relay for Life and Rider’s Community Care Fair, while also coming up with its own gatherings. Babcock rattled off some unofficial ideas he’d had for new events: a toy drive, “Pretzels with Public Safety,” “Donuts with the Director” and “Cram a Cruiser,” where donors would stuff a Public Safety car with contributions to Rider’s food pantry.

Reca said, “[Babcock’s] been an exemplary employee, and he’s been a Rider guy through and through. … There was no doubt in my mind that he was ready. … You’re going to be able to see some things happening in Public Safety that are with an eye toward the future.”