Chris Houtz has always had a drive to help others since he was young.
While many kids hadn’t even thought about their career path at 14, Houtz was already working as a junior firefighter in Catasauqua.
His desire to keep learning and dedication to public service meant that at just 16 years old, he was a crew chief for the local ambulance company.
This dedication continued throughout his more than 24-year career working his way up the ladder with the Lehigh University Police Department, and as the semester comes to an end, Houtz is getting ready to retire.
While working as an EMT, he knew that he wanted to transition over to law enforcement, and that opportunity finally came in 1995 when he began attending the Allentown Police Academy part-time.
Following his graduation from the academy, he was hired as a dispatcher with the Pennsylvania State Police. But Houtz said that he always had the urge to be on the other side of the radio.
He was hired by LUPD on June 11, 2001, after being drawn in by the department's offerings and university connections. He was so determined to work for LUPD that he applied to the department three times, getting hired as a patrol officer on the third attempt.
When Houtz first started on patrol, he had begun thinking about what he wanted to pursue further down in his career.
“During my field training, I had expressed to a couple of my field training officers, in casual conversations, that my interest was to eventually get into investigations,” Houtz said. “When I said eventually, I’m thinking five to 10 years down the road.”
In August that same year, Houtz had been working the night shift when a department-wide meeting had been called for the next day.
It was tradition to have this meeting before students returned for the semester, but what wasn’t expected was that while running on no sleep and a lot of caffeine, Houtz was named the department investigator.
When Houtz became the LUPD investigator, he was charting new territory. A role like this had not previously existed in the department. He was instrumental in building up the investigations department and expanding it further.
By 2003, Houtz was the head of the investigations department and would typically have one other detective working with him.
Houtz said that many detectives came and went while he was in that role for 14 years, but one detective who stayed around was Dave Kokinda.
Kokinda said he started working in the investigations department in 2014. There, Houtz served as his mentor, teaching him everything he knew about investigations, as Kokinda had come from a background of only working patrol.
“(Houtz) was a really determined investigator,” Kokinda said. “He was always the first one in and last one to leave, and he always would put in time outside of his normal hours of work.”
His continued hard work and perseverance paid off when he was promoted to assistant chief in July 2017.
The position was another newer position within LUPD, allowing Houtz to help shape its future with the guidance he provided to this day.
As Houtz reflects on his nearly 25 years with the department, he said the Dalai Lama's visit to Lehigh in 2008 was one of the highlights of his career.
Prior to his visit to Lehigh, the Dalai Lama had never visited the United States for more than three days at a time. This time, he was here for 10 days straight.
Houtz said that the security planning that went into facilitating the visit, which saw a sold-out crowd in Stabler Arena each day, intrigued him.
He explained how being dynamic and prepared for anything is especially important.
“He was staying originally in a Tibetan learning center over the border in New Jersey, but on the second day, he mentioned how long of a ride it was, so they immediately rented out the entire Hotel Bethlehem,” Houtz said. “We had to switch gears right away and formulate all of those security plans kind of on the fly for the next day.”
While the Dalai Lama visit is an instance of a large-scale security event for Houtz, he makes security plans regularly for many campus departments, working most often with Lehigh Athletics.
Allen Biddinger, the associate athletic director for facilities and events at Lehigh, works closely with Houtz on developing the security plans for athletic events.
“Many of our events are repeat annual events, like the auto show and the Lehigh-Lafayette game,” Biddinger said. “Along with (Houtz), we review what happened last year to see what circumstances popped up, and then modify and tweak according to what’s necessary for the current year.”
Biddinger said that Houtz is always responsible and thorough in his work, and that nothing is ever missing or unprepared. He also said that Houtz is always helpful in explaining the plans in detail so he can understand the reasoning process behind them.
“He’s always Lehigh first,” Biddinger said. “It’s always what’s best for the institution, for the police department, for the athletic department in all his planning. There are no shortcuts ever.”
Maria Gregoire, ‘25, originally met Houtz through her role as a peer health advisor working with LUPD, and said how much she enjoyed working with him over her three years with LUPD.
“I don’t even know how to put him into words,” Gregoire said. “He’s definitely like a sweetheart. Once you get to know him, he’s very kind, and it’s clear he cares so much about Lehigh.”
He will be leaving LUPD at the beginning of January next year.
As news of his retirement began to spread, many of those who work closely with him expressed sadness to see someone so dedicated leave, while also being excited to see him get a break and have free time.
“It’s really bittersweet because obviously I’m happy for him to retire and enjoy his retirement, but he’s such a great resource for us all,” Kokinda said. “Chris knows this campus better than anybody, so it’s going to be tough to make that transition.”
Houtz said that he plans on doing nothing once he retires, though he admits that doing nothing may not last long, and he may end up getting a part-time job depending on how bored he gets.
“I’m setting up my house in South Carolina now,” Houtz said. “I really just plan on hanging out and getting everything there set up. I’m going to be moving to a house in the middle of the woods with wildlife and everything.”