Creator: Richard Bernitt

Subjects: Anniversaries, Sesquicentennial

Description:

Richard Bernitt, who served as director of MSU's Department of Public Safety from 1960 until his retirement in 1986, began his actual career with the college/university as a pitcher for the baseball team where he was a teammate of Jack Breslin. After receiving his bachelor's degree in police administration in 1943, Bernitt was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army where he served in the Military Police Corps until 1946. He was a fireman for the city of Monroe, Michigan, for four years prior to beginning his career as a fire inspector at Michigan State College in 1950.

Bernitt served as assistant director of MSU's Department of Public Safety (DPS) from 1956 until he was promoted to director in 1960. Under his leadership, the department was responsible not only for police operations but also for campus safety programs and for maintaining the Vehicle Office Violations Bureau. In a Lansing State Journal interview in 1972, Bernitt remarked that "the most rewarding aspect of police work (on the MSU campus) is still helping someone and (receiving) thanks for a job well done ... and the most trying times are dealing with mass disorders."

Bernitt was instrumental in developing MSU's DPS, one of the first such departments at any college or university, and a model for similar units. He acted as a consultant to several universities, helping them create effective campus police organizations on their own campuses.

In remarks during the presentation of the Jack Breslin Distinguished Staff Award to Bernitt in 1981, a colleague remarked that he "subscribed to the 'open door' philosophy of administration, exhibiting a sincere concern for his employees' welfare." The award was presented in recognition not only of his professional contributions to MSU but also of his community service.

After his retirement from DPS in 1985, Bernitt began a second career as a volunteer with the R.J. Scheffel Memorial Toy Project and as a reader for blind students in the area. His service to law enforcement continued as he addressed professional organizations both on and off campus, sitting on promotional boards of other state law enforcement agencies and serving on the advisory committee of the mid-Michigan Police Academy. Richard Bernitt passed away on January 11, 2012, at the age of ninety.

Date: January 24, 2003

Collection Number: UA 3

Language: English

Rights Management: Educational use only, no other permissions given. Copyright to this resource is held by Michigan State University and is provided here for educational purposes only. It may not be reproduced or distributed in any format without written permission of the University Archives & Historical Collections, Michigan State University.

Contributing Institution: University Archives & Historical Collections, Office of the Provost

Relation: Sesquicentennial Oral History Project

Contributor: MSU Archives and Historical Collections