With 16 officers, two sergeants, one master sergeant, two corporals, one investigator, four dispatchers, a community program sergeant, a captain, and a host of officers, the University of Hartford’s public safety department is a law enforcement agency that can actually rival some small towns. To oversee it requires someone with ample management skills and expertise in security.
That’s why Maureen Sierra has been an invaluable presence on the UHart campus for more than 15 years, first as a dispatcher and then as administrative coordinator, the position she currently holds. She has the skills and knowledge to have a consistently positive effect on the safety and security of everyone on campus.
“What I truly love about my job is that it’s never boring. There’s always something new to do,” Sierra says. “I wear many hats, though one of the most important is as a department resource. If anyone has a question, concern, or problem, they can come to me. If I don’t know the answer or solution right away, one way or another, I’ll find the answer or figure out the solution.” Beyond that, Sierra’s many responsibilities include scheduling, creating training orders, departmental budgeting, purchasing, payroll, travel logistics, and event planning and hosting.
She followed four cousins, all of them police officers, into law enforcement, joining the Hartford police department—where she would spend 26 years—as a dispatcher in 1983. Sierra's final years there were spent as supervisor of the city’s 911 system (dispatch center). Along the way, she received a degree in psychology from Eastern Connecticut State University and raised her three children, who are now 35, 30, and 20.
It remains a family affair. Her youngest child is majoring in criminal justice at UHart; her middle son was employed in the court system (and also served in the military); and her oldest son worked in corrections.
When Sierra first came to UHart, she once again began as a dispatcher but was then offered the position of administrator—a choice that’s validated daily in many ways. In addition to overseeing dozens of administrative tasks, she also gets to know hundreds of students and staffers every year, which gives her a sense of campus-wide endorsement. Furthermore, she takes the lead on several special projects each year. For example, she plans and organizes toy drives in which University staff members donate as many toys as possible for children in need, and she also began a Christmas potluck within the public safety department, an annual event that has become a treasured tradition among her colleagues.
It’s a fact of professional life that jobs are done well when employees feel secure in their home and work lives. Sierra has just that kind of security.
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Watch for more profiles throughout the fall about dedicated members of our campus community who work tirelessly behind the scenes to make UHart a special place.