Winthrop Police Chief Zebedis to retire in August after 19 years

Winthrop University Police Chief Frank Zebedis is retiring in August after 19 years in charge of the department that serves thousands of students and staff on the Rock Hill campus.

Zebedis, 55, also is an assistant vice president for student life at the school. He told school officials this week that he is retiring to Florida, and that he had been honored to protect the students and staff at the school.

Zebedis said he was proud of his work for public safety and proud of the officers who work for him, calling it an “honor” to be a part of the school and Rock Hill community for so long.

“The time is just right for the next part of my life,” Zebedis said Friday.

School officials have not said when a search for a replacement would begin. Zebedis earns about $110,000 per year. Winthrop raised the salary by more than $25,000 after another school wanted to hire Zebedis in 2014.

Top Winthrop officials thanked Zebedis for being a crucial part of campus safety and security for tens of thousands of students and workers over two decades. An FBI Police Chiefs Academy graduate, Zebedis was part of a team that designed crisis management training for campus administrators across America.

Zebedis is a “stalwart member of our community, protecting our students and contributing significantly to the safe and secure campus we are fortunate to experience daily at Winthrop,” said Frank Ardaiolo, vice president for student life at Winthrop.

Officers at Winthrop belong to their own department and have full policing powers. The Winthrop web site shows the department has 22 officers and staff.

Zebedis, with 32 years in law enforcement, was an officer at Rock Hill Police Department and in Ohio before becoming Winthrop’s police chief.

This story was originally published June 9, 2017 at 9:43 AM with the headline "Winthrop Police Chief Zebedis to retire in August after 19 years."