ROGERS PARK — Thomas Murray, a 28-year veteran of the Illinois State Police, has been appointed as Loyola University's top cop.
Murray replaced the school's former director of campus safety, Bob Fine, who retired at the end of June.
"I like being around kids, and a college campus is a good place to work," he said, because students "are aspiring to make the world a better place."
Murray, 50, of Mayfair, said he worked as a patrolman for nearly a decade before settling in as a narcotics, gambling and criminal investigator for most of his career in law enforcement.
His final position was as a master sergeant of the state's drug trafficking task force, which seized more than $11.3 million in cash and confiscated $72 million in drugs within two years, according to his resume.
The university employs 48 officers who patrol two blocks into the neighborhoods surrounding its campuses.
"I retired from the state police because it was time to, but I never thought of it as retiring — it was repositioning," he said. "I’m really happy that I got this spot."
