VCU news

By Mike Porter

Clarence T. Hunter Jr., who has nearly 30 years of experience in law enforcement, has been named chief of the Virginia Commonwealth University Police Department, one of the largest university police departments in the country with 95 sworn officers, more than 200 security personnel and an accredited training academy. 

Hunter first entered law enforcement when he joined the Richmond Police Department in 1990 and was assigned to patrol operations for six years. More recently, he served in the Henrico County Police Division, first as deputy chief of police from April 2013 to May 2016 before being promoted to assistant chief of police, a position he held for two years. Hunter was deputy chief of police at Virginia Union University from August 2022 to September 2023.

Hunter’s appointment, effective Feb. 10, comes after a national search. The final three candidates visited VCU in December and met with students, faculty and staff.

“VCU is fortunate to welcome Clarence Hunter as chief of police, an experienced law enforcement professional whose background with community policing aligns with VCU’s mission and values,” said Meredith Weiss, Ph.D., VCU's senior vice president for finance and administration. “Over the past decade, VCU Police has focused on community, collaboration, partnership and engagement, and I look forward to Chief Hunter building on this strong foundation.”

Members of the media are invited to a swearing-in ceremony on Monday, Feb. 10, beginning at 3 p.m. at the James Cabell Branch Library, room 303.

Hunter has been a Fair and Impartial Policing national master instructor for more than a decade, facilitating discussions about bias between police chiefs and the communities they serve and providing anti-bias and diversity, equity and inclusion training to police agencies.

Hunter received a bachelor’s degree in organizational leadership from Mountain State University. He is a graduate of the administrative officer management program at North Carolina State University, the professional executive leadership school at the University of Richmond and the senior management institute for police, sponsored by the Police Executive Research Forum.

Prior to his career in law enforcement, he served in the United States Army 82nd Airborne Division and the Virginia Army National Guard, retiring at the rank of master sergeant.

John Venuti, who has served in the role of VCU Police chief since 2010, will assume his role as associate vice president for public safety at VCU and VCU Health in a full-time capacity, providing institutional public safety oversight and strategy throughout the enterprise.