Shahram Ariane has been hired as the Director of Campus Safety for the Claremont University Consortium (CUC).
Ariane will fill the position left open by the departure of Lena Robinson in July. Robinson opted to take advantage of an early retirement plan offered by CUC to reduce its operating budget.
In the interim, the position has been held briefly by Lt. Paul Alexander, who was named Acting Director of Campus Safety in July but had to take medical leave in December, and Chan Mean, who Pomona hired as Interim Director of Campus Safety through the company Securitas Security Services USA. Mean will now step down as Ariane takes the position.
Ariane said he has always had an interest in security.
“I take great satisfaction and enjoy the responsibility of looking after other people’s safety,” he said. “I think I was born with protective genes.”
He comes to the Claremont Colleges after serving more than five years as Director of Security and Guest Services for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Prior to that, Ariane was the Vice President of Security for the Staples Center Arena.
Ariane also has extensive security training, including specialized training in threat and vulnerability assessment by the U.S. Department of Defense, disaster preparedness and emergency response by the City of Los Angeles Fire Department, and emergency operation management by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in conjunction with the United States Secret Service.
Ariane said he chose to bring his expertise to the Claremont Colleges because their standards are consistent with his own.
“CUC values the same fundamental principles as I do,” he said. “These include accountability, results, integrity, collaboration, et cetera. In addition, the quality of life at [the] workplace has always been extremely important to me.”
Ariane said Campus Safety may go through some adjustments or alterations under his direction in order to transform it into a top-notch facility.
“It won’t be change for the sake of change alone,” he said. “This is a world-class center of excellence that deserves a world-class Department of Campus Safety…Together, with the help of the students and my new colleagues, we will create the model of campus safety in the US.”
The adjustment to this new position has been smooth, Ariane said, and the CUC community has helped him find a place at the Claremont Colleges.
“I think [the Consortium] is a very special place,” he said. “This may not be as obvious to those who have been here for a long period of time, but there is a lot of positive energy that surrounds us here. I am so very grateful to be a part of it.”