BLACKSBURG, Va. (WDBJ7) – As Virginia Tech’s former Police Chief transitions into a new role with the university, he is reflecting back on what brought him to Blacksburg.
“I have been blessed an honored to work some fantastic cases,” Kevin Foust said.
Before Foust sat behind his desk, he was wearing a uniform as Virginia Tech’s Police Chief.
He officially stepped down from the position on Monday and has taken on a new role with the university as Associate Vice President for Safety and Security.
“I am excited it’s going to be a fun adventure. I feel challenged, because I am a little bit out of my element. I have been in law enforcement for 36 years and this is all I’ve really known, so I feel excited,” Foust said.
Foust started as a deputy in Pennsylvania before getting joining the FBI as an agent.
“I was blessed to be surrounded by some of the best and brightest law enforcement minds in the country at that time,” Foust said.
Through the FBI, Foust traveled the world and played important roles behind the scenes of events that made international headlines including EgyptAir Flight 648 that killed 61 people in 1985.
“Up until 9-11 it was the bloodiest hijacking in the history of the world,” Foust said.
Foust helped bring the last surviving hijacker back to the United States to face charges.
“He stood trial here in the United States and he was found guilty of air piracy. He is still in federal prison today,” he said.
Then on September 11, 2001, Foust was supervising an international terrorism squad when the first plane crashed into the World Trade Center. He was responsible for coming up with a plan on how the FBI was going to respond worldwide.
“It was overwhelming, it was… I still struggle to find the words to describe it. I don’t know if I will ever be able to describe what it was like,” Foust said.
Those experiences as an agent shaped his perspective as a police officer and later a police chief.
“I think some of the most important lessons during my time in the FBI is that we are not, we cannot be in this alone. Partnerships are absolutely critical in law enforcement,” he said.
Foust plans to draw on that lesson as he transitions into his new role overseeing Virginia Tech’s Police Department, Office of Emergency Management, and Environmental Health and Safety Department.
“All of our goals is to make a safe and secure place for people to come and enjoy Virginia Tech for what it is, and that is one of the top research institutions in this country,” he said.
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