Matt Slinkard joined the University of Texas Police at Houston in 2023 after honorably retiring as the Executive Chief of the Houston Police Department where he proudly served for nearly 30 years. Throughout his decades of service, he has served in and commanded numerous divisions within Field, Investigative, Support, and Special Operations encompassing all aspects of police operations.
Slinkard is a graduate of the FBI National Academy, the Senior Management Institute for Police (SMIP), the Police Executive Leadership Institute (PELI), and the National Executive Institute (NEI). He served four years as the Major Cities Chiefs Association (MCCA) Technology Committee Chair, is a former member of the FirstNet Board of Directors, and currently serves on the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Professional Standards and Ethics Committee.
In 2011 he was tasked with overseeing the monumental transition of all Forensic Services to the new Houston Forensic Science Center and successfully cleared the DNA evidence backlog in the City of Houston. Slinkard was instrumental in planning for and overseeing numerous special events in the City of Houston and has served as Public Safety Chair and Incident Commander for the NCAA Final Four, Super Bowl LI, multiple MLB World Series to include championship parades and numerous natural disaster public safety response operations to include catastrophic Hurricane Harvey in 2017. In September 2023, he was awarded the prestigious Houston Police Department Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to public safety in Houston spanning three decades.
Slinkard holds a Master of Science Degree in Criminal Justice Management from Sam Houston State University and is a certified Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Instructor.