This is part of a series profiling the leaders of the University of Wisconsin campus and the surrounding community.

As Mary Schauf embarks on her new position as captain of the central district at the Madison Police Department, she says University of Wisconsin students are pertinent to her job. Schauf said she has a unique relationship with the campus community, and for this reason she seeks the student voice in the decisions she makes.

“We’re always looking for better ways to communicate with the students,” Schauf said. “But with people graduating and all the turnover, it’s hard to keep a long-term common thread with the campus.”

One way the police department hopes to communicate with students in the future is through electronic communication. However, the MPD will need feedback from campus groups on how to best go about implementing this information.

“If we knew where the interest was with students, we could do more for them,” Schauf said. “We won’t always see eye-to-eye, but we are willing to go to the table and talk.”

The police department attempts to work closely with the dean of students, University Police and Associated Students of Madison, who all share the common value of campus safety.

She describes her job as a sort of managerial position where she sets goals for her district, which includes the campus, and attempts to align them with the goals and objectives of the police department.

Schauf, who oversees approximately 75 police officers and detectives who work around the clock, said she finds much of the central force’s energy focused on alcohol and the events and situations in which it is a component.

“It’s a shame all of our energy goes into alcohol issues,” Schauf said. “It is important for students to find alternate activities to be involved in.”

As a member of the MPD, Schauf said she works particularly hard on events where alcohol is clearly an important factor, such as Halloween, the Mifflin Street Block Party and football Saturdays.

She added that while the police do crack down on such events, it is only for the safety of the students, and the police force understands the events are supposed to be fun.

“I think people forget we were students once, too,” Schauf said. “We have an appreciation for what it means, and we don’t want to be viewed as the enemy.”

Ald. Austin King, District 8, has worked extensively on planning the large-scale events with Schauf and said while they have butted heads on some specifics, she is a great leader to work with and was most deserving of her promotion to captain.

“We were all happy and very unsurprised when Mary was given the position,” King said. “She’s been an integral part in planning. … Mary keeps an open ear and she’s a good listener.”

Schauf has been with the force for 15 years. She initially applied for a job after she saw an ad in the newspaper and thought it sounded interesting.