Taylor is enthusiastic about Riley's ability to please both students and administrators. Taylor says there was a time she wished she wasn't in charge of HUPD, but now she "wouldn't give it up for the world."

"Bud is wonderful. He's perfect for this environment, which is surprising coming from a career in the state police," Taylor says. "He is very good at relationship building, which is something you have to understand at Harvard."

And his officers hold him in similar esteem, even though his tenure has brought a tough bout of change for many of them.

"Everyone likes Bud," says HUPD officer James Sullivan. "Some things have been controversial, and not everyone likes everything he's done, but he's very, very popular for the respect he's brought the department."

Sullivan says that before Riley took control of the HUPD, there was little change where change needed to occur.

"He's really taken the bull by the horns," Sullivan says. "And now the system's much better."

HUPD officer Louis Favreau, who praises Riley's idea of letting officers eat with students in dining halls, says that though it has taken some time to iron out the kinks, Riley has made the HUPD a better place.

"When Chief Riley gets all the pieces in place, the University will be proud of the police force," Favreau says. "He wants them to know us. It's taken a while to get everything running, but it's going great now."