You might not think that protecting a president is
much like securing a campus.
But if that's what you think, Ed Skrodzki thinks
you're wrong. "It's a good fit for me," said Skrodzki, a
Secret Service veteran appointed last week as the next
executive director of safety and
security at Homewood. "At the Secret Service, our
institutional culture is one of prevention. We take a
proactive approach to our protective and criminal
investigative responsibilities.
"When I spoke to President Brody, it was clear to me
that he recognizes the need to view Security as a dynamic,
evolving department that needs to look into the future and
be proactive."
Skrodzki will join the university on June 26,
succeeding Ron Mullen, who is retiring after 13 years at
Johns Hopkins and a career that included previous service
as deputy police commissioner in Baltimore.
"I feel very fortunate to replace a person of Ron's
high caliber and to continue the work that he has done,"
Skrodzki said. "I'm looking forward to working with the
administration, faculty, staff, students and parents to
make the university an even safer place."
Skrodzki is retiring from the Secret Service after 22
years in which he has served, among other positions, as a
special agent in the Presidential Protection Division,
assistant to the special agent in charge in New York and
inspector. Since 2001, he has been special agent in charge
in Baltimore, an office whose territory includes all of
Maryland except Montgomery and Prince George's counties. In
that role, he supervises overall security at Camp David and
oversees not only protection but also investigation of such
crimes as counterfeiting, identity theft, forgery of
financial instruments, credit card fraud and computer
fraud.
His first assignment with the Secret Service, in 1983,
was also in Baltimore, where previously he had served for
six years as a city police officer.
"I could have retired [from the Secret Service] two
years ago, but I was in no rush to leave," Skrodzki said.
"But this interested me so much because I could use so many
aspects of my skills."
James T. McGill, senior vice president for finance and
administration, said that the university leaders who
interviewed Skrodzki found him remarkably attuned to the
kinds of issues he will face at Homewood.
"We were impressed by his unremitting dedication to
the highest quality of service," McGill said. "We also were
impressed by his skill in communication and his
understanding of the important role it plays in safety and
security, especially in a university environment."
Skrodzki was assigned to the Presidential Protective
Division during the administrations of George H.W. Bush and
Bill Clinton, filling the key roles of lead advance agent
or site advance agent on domestic trips and on visits to
Japan, France, Turkey, Russia, Poland and Brazil.
"It was a wonderful opportunity to work with two
different presidents, two different personalities, two very
different security challenges," Skrodzki said. President
Clinton, for instance, was fond of running on the National
Mall. Skrodzki surveyed and set up several routes around
the Washington Monument to give the president variety, and
was always ready to adjust when the president diverted from
the pre-set routes.
"On that job, failure is not an option," he said. "It
can seem overwhelming. But I approached it methodically,
analyzing all the contingencies and taking it one step at a
time. To me, it was exciting. I found the challenges
invigorating."
Skrodzki is a 1976 graduate of the University at
Buffalo of the State University of New York and earned a
master of science degree in criminal justice at the
University of Baltimore in 1987. Though he grew up in
Syracuse, N.Y., he said he has spent so much time in
Baltimore that he, his wife and two children consider it
home.
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