Following a comprehensive national recruitment, Cal Poly has announced that Robert Plastino will serve as the university’s next chief of police.
Plastino will be sworn in on July 25.
His appointment comes after previous chief George Hughes was promoted in the summer of 2024 to the role of associate vice president of Public Safety, which oversees the police departments at both Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo and the Cal Poly Solano campus, as well as the university’s Transportation and Parking Services and Department of Emergency Services.
“With his extensive background in public safety and working collaboratively with an academic community similar to ours, Robert is going to be a perfect fit with our holistic, compassionate and progressive public safety approach at Cal Poly,” Hughes said in a press release.
Plastino brings more than 27 years of experience with the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s office.
In that time, Cal Poly officials say he was in charge of executive management of the department’s north county and south county operations, where he oversaw more than 250 sworn and non-sworn staff, as well as criminal investigations.
His experience also includes years of working collaboratively with UC Santa Barbara administration and student populations, as well as close community relations with Isla Vista residents.
“I couldn’t be more excited to join the Cal Poly community and continue to build on the great work that the department has been doing,” Plastino said in a press release. “As we head into a new academic year, we will recommit to teamwork, cross-campus collaboration, and constant innovation so we can continue to grow trust in our community and increase support on campus.”
Plastino holds a master’s degree in public administration as well as a Bachelor of Science in business administration.
