ANGELAR JACKSON MOVES UP IN THE RANKS AT UHDPS
It�s going
to be a busy fall and the University
of Houston Department of Public
Safety is getting prepared, putting
one of its finest in charge of two
of its vital units. Angelar Jackson
was recently promoted to UHDPS
Manager of Parking Enforcement and
Security.
�Angelar Jackson, a.k.a. �A.J.,� has
been employed in Parking Enforcement
here for almost 26 years,� said
UHDPS Chief Malcolm Davis. �She
started at the bottom and has worked
herself up to the top. Angelar
understands the challenges
associated with parking enforcement.
She has always performed her duties
professionally, represents the
department in a positive manner, and
definitely understands the
importance of providing excellent
customer service.�
Born in Bryan, Texas, Jackson�s
dedication and incredible work ethic
could be the result of her family�s
influence. Jackson�s father has been
a truck driver for over 52 years.
Her mother retired after 32 years of
service working for Foley�s
department store, leaving the day
before it was bought out by Macy�s.
After graduating from high school,
Jackson began her career in campus
public safety with the Texas A&M
police department doing parking
enforcement. After two years of
service in College Station, she
moved to Houston and joined the
UHDPS on November 6, 1985. She
received a promotion to the position
of parking enforcement supervisor in
2000, a position she held for 11
years. After accepting the
managerial position in April 2011,
Jackson became the first person ever
to hold this leadership position
over both parking enforcement and
security. Her hard work and
dedication had been recognized by
Chief Malcolm Davis who has looked
to Jackson to lead the merging
units.
�Earlier this year, I made the
decision to merge Parking
Enforcement and Security into a
single unit. I was looking for a
strong leader who understands our (DPS)
role in higher education �
maintaining and providing a safe
environment for UH students, faculty
and staff to learn, work and
socialize. A.J. understands the
importance of leading by example.
Even though A.J. is a manager, you
will often see her out in the field
in her �high visibility� uniform
working alongside her employees. All
of us are proud of A.J. and expect
great things of her as a manager.�
Jackson has a full staff to lead of
around 111 security officers spread
across four campuses including the
UH main campus, Cinco Ranch,
Victoria and Sugarland. Jackson�s
security team is the eyes and ears
for the campus, stationed at all
residential facilities and most of
the colleges around campus. All the
officers carry radios that can
quickly reach dispatchers and wear
high visibility shirts in order to
be easily identified. Jackson
described the security officers as
�information centers� and encouraged
the campus community to go to her
and her staff for help.
�It makes people feel more
comfortable that they have someone
there to talk to and go to if an
incident occurs,� she said. �We�re
noticing that as we grow as a
university, the demand for officers
is growing.�
For parking enforcement, Jackson has
a team of 18 officers here at the
main campus. With construction and
parking challenges anticipated for
the fall, Jackson said her team will
be out in full force to assist
everyone that they can and will be
working as diligently as possible.
�Despite what people think about
parking, we serve an excellent job
because if we weren�t here, this
place would be chaos. I think that
we don�t get enough credit for what
we do,� Jackson said.
Jackson encourages all students,
faculty and staff to avoid parking
troubles by 1) purchasing a permit
ahead of time, 2) getting familiar
with signage and parking in the
correct lots, and 3) being cautious
and compassionate when parking by
staying out of handicap or reserved
spots. She encourages the UH
community to utilize UHDPS services.
Her department offers motorist
assists for car unlocking, tire
changes, gas, and starts as well as
security escorts for those who feel
unsafe walking to their vehicle or
building.
Although security is a new area for
Jackson, she said she had gained
experience and training through her
previous roles at the university.
She said her transition into the new
position has been excellent so far
and she loves what she does. She
calls her staff supervisors the
experts and said she is constantly
learning from them.
�They make my job easy and I
appreciate everything they do,� she
said. �I couldn�t do this job
without them.�
UHDPS Parking Enforcement office
hours are daily from 6 a.m. to 10
p.m. and UHDPS Security can be
reached 24/7 through dispatch at
713-743-3333.
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