Lehigh University Police Department
Finance & Administration

Jason Schiffer

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Title: Assistant Vice President of Campus Safety & Chief of Police

Badge Number: 803

Joined LUPD: 1/2/2018

Contact Information: jds517@lehigh.edu

 

 

"I love the positive energy at Lehigh and working with a diverse group of people who are contributing in a different way, but are all working toward a common goal."

 

More about Jason....

Jason lives in Center Valley with his wife and two kids, Faith and Erik. His partner, Kathy, is a graduate of Lehigh University, ChemE ‘94. Jason has been an avid cyclist for most of his life. He started racing BMX bikes in the early 1980s and hasn’t really stopped riding wheelies and jumping bikes since that time.

Jason took an unlikely path to get to where he is today, starting his higher education journey at the University of Pittsburgh, studying computer science. After three years at Pitt, Jason enlisted in the Marine Corps at the start of the first Gulf War. A training injury ended this chapter, but not before affecting the direction of his professional life.

The Marines ignited a passion for service and Jason entered the world of law enforcement as a Bethlehem Police officer in 1994. He returned to college at DeSales University and studied criminal justice, graduating in 1999. In 2004, he was fortunate to be accepted into law school and graduated from the Temple University Beasley School of Law in 2008.

After serving as a police officer for 20 years in the City of Bethlehem, he retired as the Chief of Police in 2013. He worked as a trial attorney for 4-1/2 years before returning to serving the community through police work as the Chief of Police at Lehigh University.

As a trial attorney, he focused on representing people who were victims of workplace discrimination and those injured in accidents. His passion for cycling led him to specialize in bicycle crashes and he also enjoyed working on technical cases involving complex accidents, and product liability cases. He specialized in helping members of the LGBTQ+ community in federal civil rights and Title IX litigation, primarily representing victims of discrimination in schools. 

Some of his most memorable experiences have always been when speaking or reading to children in the local schools, or at the Cops-N-Kids reading room in Bethlehem. 

Jason has a passion for learning and for helping others and it is his great honor to do whatever he can to try to make a positive difference in others’ lives.

Why I enjoy working at Lehigh...

"I love the positive energy at Lehigh and working with a diverse group of people who are contributing in a different way, but are all working toward a common goal."

 

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