May 30, 2025
Dear Members of Our Campus Community,
After five years of distinguished leadership and service, our Chief of Police Alex Yao has decided to retire at the end of the academic year. We have since formed a search advisory committee for our next Police Chief.
I am pleased to announce that Lieutenant Matthew Bly has graciously agreed to serve as Interim Chief of Police, effective July 1, 2025.
Lt. Bly joined the UCPD in 2006 as an officer in the UCPD Field Operations Division, after graduating from UC Santa Barbara with a B.A. in History. In the Field Operations Division, he has served as a Field Training Officer and a Sergeant, and in 2021 was named Lieutenant. As Lieutenant, Bly represents UCPD on UC Santa Barbara’s multidisciplinary Student Behavioral Intervention Team and Threat Management Team, in addition to serving as Incident Commander of large-scale campus events such as Halloween, Deltopia, and Commencement. Lt. Bly is also UCPD’s liaison to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office Isla Vista Foot Patrol and is UCPD’s commander on the Systemwide Response Team (SRT).
Lt. Bly has earned numerous awards and citations, including the H. Thomas Guerry Award for Superior Performance and the Chief MacPherson Jr. Police Officer of the Year Award in 2009, as well as the UCPD Valor Award in 2012. Lt. Bly earned a Public Safety Meritorious Service Citation from the UCPD and Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office for his bravery and heroism as a first responder to the 2014 Isla Vista tragedy.
We are grateful to Lt. Bly for his willingness to serve our campus in this important leadership position.
Please join me in extending our sincere thanks and appreciation to Alex Yao for his wonderful leadership, and his dedication to the safety and well-being of our campus community.
Sincerely,
Henry T. Yang
Chancellor