‘I’ve come full circle’: Gracia begins job as ETSU police chief

ETSU’s Chief of Police Cesar Gracia may be new to the Department of Public Safety, but he’s far from new to campus.

Gracia, who assumed the role of chief of police and director of public safety on Nov. 9, received both his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice as well as his master’s degree from ETSU.

“It’s an interesting story,” said Gracia. “I had $800 in my pocket and a 1967 Volkswagen and everything I owned was stuffed in that car. I drove from Miami, Florida, to attend ETSU to get my degree in criminal justice.”

After graduating from ETSU, Gracia began his career with the Kingsport Police Department where he worked for seven years. After that, he spent four years working with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation before becoming the coordinator, and later the director, of the Walters State Community College Regional Law Enforcement Training Academy. Gracia has spent the last five years of his career as the chief of police and dean of campus safety at Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tennessee.

“And finally, I’ve come full circle to return to the community where it all began, right here at ETSU, and I’m elated to be back,” said Gracia.

Gracia said he is looking forwards to seeing ETSU’s campus operating at full capacity once it is safe to do so, and he plans to put in place a new policy called walk and talk to encourage officers to patrol campus on foot more often and interact with students.

“When you can establish those personal relationships, they’re just so important,” said Gracia. “Not only to what we provide, but the faculty, staff and students get to learn more about our officers as well as our officers get to better know and understand the people that we serve in that, and that’s how you do a better job in my opinion, more of a community policing concept. So, I’m really excited about the walk and talk program.”

Gracia also plans to create a Clery Compliance Committee. The Clery Act is a federal law that requires colleges to report crimes that happen on their campus and efforts taken to ensure campus safety in annual reports.

While Gracia said he is looking forward to being able to interact with the campus community more, he is excited to be back on the campus where it all began.

“Mainly, it’s just being able to say that I’m back here and serving ETSU again, you know,” said Gracia. “They served me for four or five years, and then I came back and got my master’s degree, and I’m just so excited to be able to return that favor, and basically as a sign of gratitude, to be able to help and serve the people that helped me years ago.”