Skip to main content

Duke Police Chief Accepts New Position

Chief Clarence Birkhead To Lead Police Department in Hillsborough, N.C.

Duke University Police Chief Clarence Birkhead announced Wednesday that he has accepted the position of police chief for the town of Hillsborough.

Birkhead, 44, joined Duke Police in 1988 as a police officer and worked his way up the ranks from detective sergeant to watch commander and then assistant chief. He has served as police chief for seven years.

His last day at Duke is June 30.

"Duke is synonymous with excellence, both in the academic community and the health care community, and working here has truly been a blessing," Birkhead said. "I have spent the last seven years managing a great group of committed professionals who make up the Duke University Police force -- people who care about their job, their community and their fellow officers and staff.''

An interim police chief will be announced soon, and the university will begin a search for a new chief.

"Chief Birkhead has done outstanding work representing our university and police department during his career at Duke," said Tallman Trask III, executive vice president. "We appreciate his dedication to the students, the MedicalCenter and campus community at large. We wish him luck in his new role, and are glad he will still be nearby."

Birkhead began his law enforcement career in 1984 as a deputy for the Randolph County Sheriff's Office. He said he wanted to return to municipal policing as a police chief, a career aspiration.

"That's the only thing I haven't done, and it gives me the opportunity to return to the public ranks," Birkhead said.

He thanked Trask and other senior administrators for the opportunities at Duke, where he led a department of about 140 employees and oversaw a $6.3-million budget.

"I came to Duke in 1988 with no clue as to what campus policing was all about," Birkhead said. "Now, 17 years later, I feel I have learned a great deal more than I ever could have imagined. Along the way, I met new challenges and made friends -- friends I hope to keep long after I leave Duke."

In his new role in Hillsborough, a town about 10 miles west of Durham, Birkhead will supervise a police staff of 29 employees. He starts his new job on July 5.

"The town is exceptionally fortunate to be able to hire someone as talented as Clarence Birkhead," Hillsborough Town Manager Eric Peterson said in a prepared statement. "Mr. Birkhead has an excellent combination of skills that will make him a great fit for Hillsborough."