Brown University Removes Public Safety Chief Amid DOE Clery Probe

Brown University has placed its vice president for public safety, Rodney Chatman, on administrative leave after a campus shooting that killed two students and injured others, triggering outside counsel, federal review, and intense scrutiny of university leadership and safety protocols.

The university’s move to sideline Rodney Chatman looks like damage control after a tragic failure to protect students, not a decisive effort to fix systemic problems. Officials need to answer why preventive measures and campus security coordination broke down the night two students were killed. Families and the public deserve clear, prompt accountability, not slow bureaucratic shifts that look more like theater than reform.

President Christina Paxson is facing the heat for what critics call mismanagement and delay, yet the first disciplinary step landed on Chatman. That may be necessary but it is not sufficient, because leadership at the top sets policy and priorities. If the goal is real change, governance and resource decisions that shaped campus safety must be examined next.

The university has already tapped a veteran law enforcement figure to take over operations temporarily, signaling a recognition that experienced policing is needed immediately on campus. The interim leader named has decades of service in Providence and brings operational know-how, but administrative responsibility for oversight resides with senior university leaders. Students, parents, and lawmakers will be watching whether this hire translates into durable safety reforms or just a short-term public relations fix.

Hugh T. Clements Jr., the former longtime Providence police chief, has been tapped by Brown University to lead the school’s public safety operations following a shooting on campus that left two dead and nine injured.

Clements, who first started as a night patrol officer for the Providence Police Department in 1985, moved up the ranks and was promoted to chief in 2012. He was the second longest-serving chief in the city’s history before retiring in January 2023.

Clements will serve as Brown’s interim vice president of public safety, a role held by Rodney Chatman who has been placed on leave. 

Federal scrutiny has arrived quickly: the Department of Education announced a program review under the Clery Act to determine whether Brown met its obligations to report and respond to campus threats. That review puts federal aid compliance on the table and could have serious consequences. For a university with an $8 billion endowment, ignoring campus safety responsibilities is not just morally wrong, it’s financially risky.

Today, the U.S. Department of Education (the Department) announced it will conduct a program review of Brown University (Brown) in response to the December 13, 2025, shooting on its campus, which killed two students. The Department’s Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) will investigate if Brown violated Section 485(f) of the Higher Education Act, otherwise known as the Jeanne Clery Campus Safety Act (Clery Act), which requires institutions of higher education to meet certain campus safety and security-related requirements as a condition of receiving federal student aid.

Brown has hired outside counsel to prepare for legal exposure and to coordinate with law enforcement, a predictable step but one that underscores how serious the institution views the fallout. The move to bring in a former U.S. Attorney suggests the university expects complex litigation and investigative hurdles ahead. That legal posture will play out alongside public anger and lawmakers demanding answers.

#FIRSTONFOX: Brown University has retained former United States Attorney for the District of Rhode Island Zachary Cunha as sources tell me they prepare for possible lawsuits.  

Brown shared this statement, “Brown works routinely with outside counsel whose expertise complements that of the University’s Office of the General Counsel. In this case, we retained Zachary Cunha, the former United States Attorney for the District of Rhode Island, to assist the University in coordinating with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.”

Expect legal claims and civil suits to surface as families seek answers and compensation for loss and trauma. Lawsuits will test whether Brown followed required reporting and response procedures, and whether administrative choices contributed to the tragedy. Beyond courts, the university faces reputational damage that could depress enrollment and donor confidence, consequences that private institutions rarely absorb without change.

Public debate will center on campus safety policy, the limits of university policing, and broader questions about preventive measures on college grounds. Republicans looking at this situation will call for strict accountability for administrators and clear reforms that restore safety without eroding lawful rights. Whatever the political angle, the immediate need is better protection for students and transparent steps from university leadership.

Editor’s Note: President Trump is fighting to dismantle the Department of Education and ensure America’s kids get the education they deserve.