After nearly seven months without a permanent police chief at NIU, a search has begun.

Eddie Williams, senior vice president of finance and facilities, hopes a new chief will be named by May or June.

The last chief, John Pickens, left NIU in June to work at Arizona State University. He had served as NIU police chief since 1994.

Lt. John Hunter has acted as interim chief since July 1. Under Pickens, he served as commander of NIU police operations.

Hunter expects to continue his interim role for “at least several months.” Although he doesn’t know if the new chief will ask him to return to his old post, he does plan to stay with the department and continue working for NIU until his retirement.

A search committee, meanwhile, has begun looking for a permanent replacement for Pickens.

“The search is just now beginning because we made a conscious decision that there were items on the table that were of a higher priority,” Williams said. “I have complete confidence in Lt. John Hunter’s ability to manage the NIU police unit.”

Admasu Zike, assistant provost for Academic Support Services, was chosen by Lynne Waldeland, executive vice president and provost, to chair the search committee.

Also included are some NIU faculty members, professional staff, operations staff, administrators, students, DeKalb police chief Bill Feithen and Nolan Davis, assistant to NIU President John Peters.

Williams helped decide who would be represented and who would serve on the committee.

“We will find the best person for the job no matter where they are in the country,” Williams said. “We have a well-represented search committee, and I feel that these people can come together and work well to produce results.”

“Right now we’re still in the beginning stages of the search,” Zike said. “We’re looking at the job description to determine what qualifications we will be looking for from applicants.”

Zike said the job opening has not yet been advertised, and it will be a while before any results are announced. He hopes to see a new chief appointed by the beginning of the next academic year but said a summer announcement is possible.