URBANA — University of Illinois Police Chief Barbara O'Connor has accepted a new job at the University of Connecticut where she will be the new director of public safety and police chief.

Her last day on the job has not been determined yet. An interim police chief hasn't been named, but Chancellor Phyllis Wise is expected to make that announcement in the future, according to UI campus spokeswoman Robin Kaler.

O'Connor was named the UI's police chief and executive director of public safety in 2008 and arrived on campus in 2009. She came from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst where she was police chief.

On Wednesday, O'Connor said the UConn position was the only job she would leave the UI for. O'Connor, who will be based on the Storrs, Conn., campus, will be within an hour of where she grew up in western Massachusetts.

"The people here are just wonderful. It's a great law-enforcement community and a great community. I was blessed with a great team," she said about the Champaign-Urbana community and the UI force.

During her time at the UI, O'Connor said she worked to improve morale and efficiencies in the department.

O'Connor led the effort to ensure the university's compliance with the Clery Act, federal legislation which requires colleges to disclose crime statistics, Kaler said.

O'Connor said she recognized the community "struggled with the level of crime alerts we had to put out publicly, but I think we've had a good response over the years. We've been proactive."

O'Connor "did quite a bit to make the campus more safe and secure for not only students but also faculty and staff," Kaler said.

"She was wonderful police chief and we are sad to see her go, but understand she has family reasons" for accepting the University of Connecticut job, Kaler said.

While she was director of public safety and chief at the UI, the police force grew from 55 to 66 on staff. She and her team worked with the housing division to add a new security force at university residence halls. She's also recently launched a review of the Division of Public Safety's space needs and said an addition to public safety's headquarters on Springfield Avenue in Urbana is likely.

In recent months, O'Connor also has been working with interim Associate Director Mike Schlosser on future ideas for the UI's Police Training Institute. Campus administrators recommended closing the institute for budget reasons, but legislators and local politicians have been lobbying the university to keep it open.

O'Connor has said a newly revisioned institute could be better connected to campus through research partnerships with other units. Although the PTI's future is not likely to be finalized while she is on campus, her and Schlosser's report should be finished and Schlosser will continue to be involved in the issue.

"We're working with training board (Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board) to allow us to continue to host classes," she said.

At UConn, O'Connor replaces Robert Hudd, who is retiring. Hudd drew some criticism for his salary, which was most recently reported to be $256,000.

O'Connor knew Hudd while she was at UMass and described Hudd as a mentor and a wise person. At UConn she will oversee not only the police department, but also two fire departments, an ambulance service and police stations on the university's satellite campuses.

O'Connor has a law degree from Western New England College School of Law in Springfield, Mass., a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Westfield State College in Westfield, Mass., and a master's in labor studies from UMass.

At the UI she replaced Kris Fitzpatrick and Jeff Christensen, both of whom were interim chiefs. Oliver Clark retired from the chief of police position in 2005.

The university will conduct a national search for O'Connor's replacement, Kaler said.

"She's definitely leaving us with our department in wonderful shape," Kaler said.