After nearly three decades of service, former University of Chicago police chief and longtime community leader Rudy Nimocks will retire from UChicago at the end of January 2017.
Nimocks joined the University in 1989 as chief of the University of Chicago Police Department, where he served for nearly 20 years before becoming Director of Community Partnerships in the Office of Civic Engagement in 2009. His work in both roles, strengthening relationships between UChicago and members of our neighboring communities, helped earn him the University’s 2017 Diversity Leadership Award for staff members.
"Rudy's year at UChicago have been defined by his energy, stamina and passion, as well as his committment to the local community." - Derek Douglas, UChicago vice president for civic engagement
As part of the Office of Civic Engagement, Rudy has been a champion for improving educational opportunities for local youth. In 2009 he forged a University partnership with the Chicago Police Department and the Woodlawn Public Safety Alliance to establish the Chicago Youth Leadership Academy. The academy, now in its seventh year, has hosted 217 South Side youth on UChicago’s campus for a three-week residential program, exposing them to new educational and cultural experiences.
“It’s amazing how total immersion in the University of Chicago can have such dramatic impact on where they’re going,” Nimocks said of the youths’ experiences in the program.
As UCPD chief, Rudy led the effort to extend the University’s policing boundaries to Woodlawn and areas north of campus in response to community concerns about public safety. He was also responsible for installing emergency phones in key locations around the community. Before leading UCPD, Rudy served a long and distinguished career with the Chicago Police Department.
Throughout a career spanning more than six decades, he has received numerous honors for his commitment and dedication, including a 2008 Honor’s Award from the United States Secret Service Agency, induction into Chicago’s Senior Citizen Hall of Fame, and the dedication of the 6100 block of South Greenwood on the south edge of campus as “Rudy and Joyce Nimocks Way,” an honor he shares with his wife. His latest recognition came on January 9, 2017, when he received the University’s Diversity Leadership Award.
“Rudy’s years at UChicago have been defined by his energy, stamina and passion, as well as his commitment to the local community,” said Derek Douglas, vice president for civic engagement. “When I joined the University five years ago, his imprint here and in the local community was evident. It has personally been an honor to work with him.”
By Calmetta Coleman
