Catherine Dennis, director of Public Safety for Ranken Technical College, joined the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department in August of 1989, after doing security for loss prevention at JCPenney in Northwest Plaza, and security for a children’s home. She served on the police department for about five years before joining their K9 unit and stayed for seven years until being promoted to police sergeant.
She received her bachelors of science in Criminal Justice at Lindenwood University. She is now enrolled in Lindenwood’s Graduate Degree Program to receive her master’s of science degree in Criminal Justice Administration.
“When I looked online I was like, ‘Oh, my god I’m only five clusters away from my master’s, why would I not do it?’” Dennis said. “For me I’m too close to being where I would love to be. I’ve been doing supervision for almost 20 years when I first got promoted to the rank of sergeant in the city, so I felt like the administration part of it is certainly something that wouldn’t be unfamiliar to me. I want to be able to say that I went as far as I felt like I really could.”
Dennis retired from the police department three month shy of 28 years as a police sergeant. Upon retirement she went to the University of Missouri – St. Louis (UMSL) Police Department as a sergeant, where after four months she served as the interim deputy commander of Special Operations.
“My favorite part about the work that I do is communication,” Dennis said. “I got to interact with the community, I got to be involved. Being involved to me means not just being involved, but making a difference. The community now where I’m at is not just the community on the outside, but it’s the community that’s on the inside of Ranken as well.”
After serving a year and a half with UMSL she is now the first female and first African American to serve as the director of Public Safety for Ranken Technical College at 4431 Finney Ave., north of Delmar and south of Page – an area where she grew up and that she previously patrolled.
“My vision when I left the police department was to always be able to go somewhere I could use that experience that I’ve gained in 29 years, including UMSL, and put it to use in a place that would certainly benefit from it,” Dennis said. “The experience that I’ve gained would certainly be a benefit to Ranken because my job here is all about the safety and security of the campus.”
Ranken is a private, nonprofit, degree-granting institution of higher learning whose primary mission is to provide the comprehensive education and training necessary to prepare students for employment and achievement in a variety of technical fields.
“I’m hoping at Ranken to make their public safety department something that it has never been,” Dennis said. “Because of the area that we’re in, the first thing that parents think is: ‘Is it really a safe area?’ and my ultimate goal is to be able to show every parent not only is it safe, but to make every parent understand that while your child is here the utmost important thing to us is to make sure your child comes home and that they’re safe the entire time they’re here.”
She is a trailblazer as well as a peace keeper.
“Being the first female and being the first African American in this role has certainly set boundaries already, and I want to make sure that what’s expected of me is not only done, but more than that,” Dennis said. “So that when the next person steps into this role, they’re able to do just that. Not have to start from scratch, do everything over, but be able to step into this role because I’ve left a good trail as to where we need to go from here.”
Ashley Jones is an Emma Bowen Foundation editorial intern at The St. Louis American, supported by a grant from the Democracy Fund.
