Penn State police supervisor graduates from School of Police Staff and Command

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State University Police Deputy Chief Dale Osenbach recently graduated from Northwestern University’s Center for Public Safety following the completion of an extensive, in-residence program that provides advanced leadership training specific to law enforcement.

Osenbach successfully completed the 10-week Staff and Command program offered in Hershey, earning his certification in October. 

The School of Police Staff and Command provides upper-level collegiate instruction in 27 core blocks of instruction and additional optional blocks during each session. The major areas of study include leadership, human resources, employee relations, organizational behavior, applied statistics, planning and policy development, budgeting, and resource allocation.

Each student is academically challenged through written examinations, projects, presentations and quizzes in addition to a staff study paper. In addition to being academically focused, this course allows for the networking of law enforcement professionals from various agencies and backgrounds.  

Osenbach is in his ninth year of service with the University Police unit within University Police and Public Safety. Currently, he is the deputy chief for Penn State police stations in the Southeast District, which includes the Abington, Berks, Brandywine and Great Valley campuses. In this role, Osenbach is responsible for day-to-day operations at each of these police stations. 

Osenbach has served in law enforcement for 12 years and previously served in the West Penn Township and Tamaqua Borough police departments. He began his Penn State career at the Schuylkill campus and was promoted to lieutenant in January of 2018. He served as station commander at Penn State Hazleton before being promoted to deputy chief. 

Osenbach earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Marywood University in Scranton. Following graduation, he was employed at KidsPeace National Center for Children in Crisis, where he served in an intensive residential unit for four years. He later investigated allegations of child abuse for a Child Protective Services Unit before entering the Lackawanna County Community College Police Academy. 

“We value and encourage professional development and we want to provide our officers with the education, training and tools necessary to remain at the forefront of law enforcement best practices,” said Charlie Noffsinger, associate vice president of Penn State Police and Public Safety. “We are proud of Deputy Chief Osenbach for completing this extensive training, which demonstrates his continued dedication to his role at Penn State and his ongoing commitment to the Penn State community.”

The Center for Public Safety was established at Northwestern University in 1936 with the specific goal of expanding university-based education and training for the law enforcement community. The program, which was implemented by the Center for Public Safety in 1983, has graduated more than 20,000 students both nationally and internationally. Since its inception, the center has broadened its original objective and now provides a variety of courses and programs in the area of police training, management training and executive development.  

Established in 1926 as Campus Patrol, today Penn State University Police and Public Safety is responsible for protecting and serving more than 100,000 Penn State students, employees and visitors at 22 campuses throughout Pennsylvania. 

In 2017, Penn State centralized University Police and Public Safety by combining campus-based units into one, cohesive department under the direction of the associate vice president with a department headquarters at University Park. 

University Police and Public Safety provides multiple resources and services, including police services, behavioral threat management, Clery compliance, physical security and emergency management.