Yale Police Chief Jim Perrotti (left) began his career on the Yale Police in the same year that Robert J. Dilzer retired from the force after 36 years of service. Dilzer, shown here in a photograph taken just days before the reunion he attended for retired Yale officers, is the department's oldest living retiree.

Reunion beckons oldest police retiree

Although he's 92 years old, retired Yale police officer Robert J. Dilzer remembers his experiences with old Yale friends as though they happened yesterday. The oldest living retiree of the Yale Police, Dilzer recently caught up on the lives of some of his former fellow officers during a reunion of retired officers held March 24 in New Haven. "Things have changed a lot since I was there," he says of the University, where he worked for 36 years as a police officer -- from 1937 until his retirement in 1973. "In my early days there, there were only about 550 people in the freshmen class and there were about 35 police officers," noting that these figures have since more than doubled. "And the first woman police officer started work there on the night that I retired." Dilzer also recalls how the officers during his tenure seldom wore uniforms, and noted that he was the first in the department to drive a squad car. "I wore out a lot of them during my day," he says. "They're all gone, but I'm still going." He enjoys reminiscingabout his time at Yale, he says, adding, "I consider myself lucky to had such good steady employment at Yale and to have been such a part of everything there. I had a lot of friends there. I wasn't much older than a lot of the students when I started there. Of course, not many would recognize me now." T H I SW E E K ' SS T O R I E S Psychologist Keil to head Morse College community Psychiatrist Schottenfeld to serve at Davenport College Merson discusses 'heart and soul' of public health 'Yale, America and the World' '300 Years of Creativity and Discovery' Special postcard salutes Yale in its tercentennial year Noted alumni to advise School of Forestry & Environmental Studies Yale Opera stages musical retelling of Goethe's 'Faust' Human rights during the Bush administration is topic of symposium Study suggests ways to motivate women to get mammograms Two-day conference to explore ways to foster peaceful relations . . . MEDICAL CENTER NEWS Study: HIV-positive women twice as likely to die if depressed Researchers discover that chronic schizophrenia in men . . . Scientists use artery-constricting milk shake to prove beneficial . . . Dermatology symposium pays tribute to Dr. Irwin Braverman Lectures will examine important aspects of 'personalized medicine' Conference will highlight the advances in treatments . . . An evening of jazz celebrates the spirit of collaboration Reunion beckons oldest police retiree Head games: A Photo Essay Upcoming events will feature the plays of Pulitzer Prize-winning . . . Campus Notes Bulletin Home|Visiting on Campus|Calendar of Events|In the News|Bulletin Board Yale Scoreboard|Classified Ads|Search Archives|Deadlines Bulletin Staff|Public Affairs Home|News Releases| E-Mail Us|Yale Home Page