The Lehigh University Police Department and Lehigh Athletics have always enjoyed a strong partnership. We have expanded this partnership to include a more structured program and are proud to announce our new Athletics Liaison Program! At the Lehigh Police Department, our Mission is to aid in the success of our students. We recognize that our student's emotional safety is as important as their physical safety. As such, our goal is to ensure all of our students feel safe and welcomed on campus. We want our students to get to know us on a personal level and reassure them we are here for their success.
The officers listed on this website all wish to engage even more directly in liaison work and collaborations with our student-athletes. They have either been athletes themselves or are just lovers of sports. Either way, they recognize the value of being a student-athlete at Lehigh and wish to help our athletes succeed. Of course, all of our officers already engage with our campus community, including students. Our student-athletes are leaders on campus and can help our officers increase this engagement!
If you are considering Lehigh University for your student-athlete career and have questions about campus safety, feel free to reach out to one of the officers listed on this page that mentions a willingness to discuss campus safety.
Attention coaches and athletes:
- If you would like to set up an event with a specific officer, check the information next to their photo to retrieve their contact information.
- If your request is simply for a therapy dog visit, please complete this form.
- If you don't have a specific event or a specific officer in mind, please complete this form and someone will contact you.
Program Examples and Ideas
Contact a specific officer to inquire about creating a unique relationship with them and your team. They can attend practices or meetings, check in on your students if they become involved with the police, provide safety talks, and more.
Have your team or certain members of your team stop by our police station for a tour. Students typically enjoy seeing our dispatch center, holding cells, interview rooms, and police equipment. A tour usually sparks good conversations about our operating procedures and responses to crimes/threats on campus. In the past, we've had students take pictures wearing police body armor and in police cars.
Help our officers stay in shape! Police officers have a high risk of cardiovascular disease due to shift work and the sedentary nature of the job. Police work is mostly sedentary with occasional occurences of high stress moments. This is not a good combination. Our officers may be willing to attend some of your physical training, which can spark conversations and help bridge the gap between police and student athletes.
This is a program that is only offered a few times in a semester. Many students may not feel comfortable dealing with police officers. This most often occurs with members of marginalized communities or people from foreign countries with tyrannical governments. This program is designed to foster trust and share perspectives. A few of our officers will host up to ten students at our police station and provide breakfast or lunch. Our officers will not carry their firearms for this event to help promote a calming environment. We will then engage the students in whatever topic they wish to discuss. The conversation can be about anything. However, we are willing to discuss difficult topics, such as police use of force, how bias impacts our actions, police reform, and much more.
One of our officers will gladly stop by your practice to discuss any topic related to campus safety. We can discuss our role at Lehigh, tips for staying safe, medical amnesty, and more.
Want to help eachother boost our social media following? Collaborate with Grace and Scout on a social media post. Get creative! We now have student worker positions, known as Campus Safety Ambassadors, that can help us create fun social media posts.
If there is a group of recruits coming to campus, we would love to meet them! We understand that overnight visits often bring a group of recruits and their families to campus. A member of our team would be happy to briefly discuss campus safety and the Police Department's role on campus. Please contact Kyle Fisher to set this up.
Jason Schiffer
Jason enjoys watching many sports, including football, baseball, soccer, lacrosse, swimming, track & field, and formula one racing. Jason played baseball and tennis from his early youth through high school. He also raced BMX bikes starting at age ten and continued to ride and race mountain bikes for many years. He also competed in off-road adventure racing which combined mountain biking, kayaking, and trail running.
Jason is an enthusiastic spectator of his children's sports activities, including baseball, soccer, swimming, lacrosse, cross country, and track & field. Jason's favorite place to work out on campus has always been mountain biking on the south mountain trails.
Read Jason's full bio and see his contact info here.
Chris Houtz
Chris enjoys watching football and wrestling and used to play football when he was younger. Read Chris's full bio and see his contact info here.
If you are a recruit with questions or concerns about campus safety, please feel free to contact Chris!
Kyle Fisher
Kyle enjoys watching all sports, but mainly volleyball, basketball, and track and field. In high school, Kyle played basketball and ran cross-country and track and field. Kyle enjoys early morning workouts in Taylor Gym and running on Goodman Campus. Read Kyle's full bio and see his contact info here.
If you are a recruit with questions or concerns about campus safety, please feel free to contact Kyle!
Dave Kokinda
When Dave was younger, he participated in football, baseball, wrestling, basketball, and track and field. He currently enjoys golfing. His favorite sports to watch are football, baseball, hockey, and golf. Dave used to coach his brother's lacrosse and football teams. Dave's favorite place to workout on campus is the Varsity House and Rauch Field House. Read Dave's full bio and see his contact info here.
If you are a recruit with questions or concerns about campus safety, please feel free to contact Dave!
Grace
Grace is assigned to Lieutenant Dave Kokinda. Grace enjoys frisbee, fetch, and hiking. Grace likes to watch football with her dad. She barks at the players and passes judgment, thinking she could have made that catch, even though she's probably watching while laying on the couch and snacking on treats. Grace boasts she could beat any athlete at a 60 yard dash. Someone needs to put her in her place.
Grace would love to speak with recruits about campus safety but her English is a little ruff.
Learn about our therapy dog program here.
Rich McGarr
Rich enjoys watching football and baseball. Read Rich's full bio and see his contact info here.
Stephen Romanic
Stephen used to play basketball, baseball, soccer, golf, and softball. He continues to play these sports when he has the opportunity to. His favorite sports to watch are basketball, baseball, hockey, golf, and football. His favorite place to workout on campus is at Taylor Gym. Read Stephen's full bio and see his contact info here.
Scout
Scout is assigned to patrol officer Stephen Romanic. Scout's favorite sports include frisbee, fetch, and begging for treats. Scout enjoys visiting the track and field team at Rauch. One time, Scout ran into a tennis net because her dad threw a ball over it. Everyone who was there laughed; I think they hurt Scout's feelings. Scout's dad is currently training her to pick up the football tee after kick offs at home football game. It's a work in progress! Scout still lives at home with her parents.
If you are a recruit with questions or concerns about campus safety, don't feel free to contact Scout. Scout's a dog. She can't talk.
Learn about our therapy dog program here.
Jerel Foster
Jerel currently enjoys running, weight-lifting, and brazilian jiu-jitsu. Jerel used to play football, basketball, and baseball. Jerel's favorite sports to watch are football and basketball. His favorite place to work out on campus is Taylor Gym. Read Jerel's full bio and see his contact info here.
If you are a recruit with questions or concerns about campus safety, please feel free to contact Jerel!
Steve Marks
Steve used to play football and tennis in high school. He attended the University of Scranton and was the captain of the Rowing Team his senior year. He enjoys riding his motorcycle, sailing, lifting weights, and golfing. When his son was younger, Steve acted as his youth football coach. View Steve's full bio and contact info here.
Jon Buskirk
In high school, Jon played four years of football, basketball, and baseball. He also ran cross country for one season. Jon attended Moravian College and he was a triple jumper for two years. He then finished his college athletics career by playing lacrosse, which was the year the lacrosse program started. Jon coaches youth baseball and has coached youth basketball in the past. View Jon's bio and contact info here.
Tina Vu
In high school, Tina cheered and swam all four years. She also participated in club swimming her freshman year of college. Currently, she enjoys participating in running and swimming. She also enjoys watching football and swimming. Her favorite place to work out on campus is Taylor Gym and the Varsity House. View Tina's bio and contact info here.
If you are a recruit with questions or concerns about campus safety, please feel free to contact Tina!
