Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) is excited to announce the appointment of William "Jake" Jacoby as the new chief of police. Jacoby has served as the College’s assistant chief of police for ten years. Following a nationwide search, Jacoby was named to succeed Chief Dan Dusseau, who retired in May 2022.
Jacoby has nearly four decades of police experience in Northern Virginia. He is familiar with the region's police forces, especially in the main four jurisdictions where NOVA’s campuses are located.
"The safety of our college community is of critical importance at NOVA," said John Ferrari, (USA, ret.) NOVA’s new vice president of finance and administration. "With his extensive police background, Jake will ensure that the public safety of the College remains the top priority and that our students, faculty and staff are in the best of hands. Our award-winning police force is proud to continue to serve."
Prior to coming to NOVA in 2012, Jacoby retired from the Fairfax County Police Department. While with FCPD, he served in various senior operational roles. He also served as an assistant station commander, supervising approximately 125 officers and numerous civilians.
Jacoby's selection followed a rigorous national search with over 50 candidates applying from major urban and rural areas, other colleges and universities, the FBI and other federal law enforcement agencies.
"NOVA Police is one of the country’s premier college police departments. I intend to enhance the culture of safety established by Dan Dusseau,” said Jacoby. “We will continue to emphasize the professional development and approachability of our police force, and our community outreach efforts to keep our operations transparent and to empower NOVA community members with information they need to keep them safe, both on and off campus.”
In his spare time, Jacoby likes to travel, play golf, and catch up with NOVA students on the campuses.