New Hayward Police Chief is CSUEB Hall of Fame athlete

• July 8, 2011 5:00am

Cal State East Bay Athletic Hall of Fame member Diane (Oswalt) Urban, was announced as the city of Hayward's new chief of police on June 30. The former track and field student-athlete will become Hayward's first female police chief after serving as San Jose's assistant chief of police since January.

Urban was a thrower for the Pioneer track and field team from 1982-85. During that span, she collected three titles in the discus at the NCAA Division II national championships, establishing a national record in 1985 with her winning throw of 174-11. She was a two-time All-American in the discus and also holds the school record in the javelin and ranks second in program history with a 48-foot toss in the shot put.

A 1992 Hall of Fame inductee, Urban received her bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Cal State Hayward in 1985 and went on to earn a master's degree in applied social science from Boston University. She has spent the last 25 years with the San Jose Police Department, working in a number of different areas, including the Field Training Office, the Horse Mounted Unit, the Intelligence Unit and as commander of the Special Operations Division.

The daughter of a former Los Angeles police officer, Urban will take command of the 190-officer Hayward Police Department on Aug. 8, when she will become the Bay Area's eighth female police chief and join 22 other women who head police departments in California.

Congrats, Diane!

Read San Jose Mercury News article. 

KH