St. Mary’s College of Maryland is once again looking for a new director of public safety after David Zylak left the position this week.

An email was sent Monday to faculty and staff at the college announcing a search process for a new director after “the departure” of Zylak, a former St. Mary’s County sheriff. The letter did not refer to why Zylak no longer works at the college.

President Joseph Urgo said Thursday that Zylak resigned. He was still on a one-year probation period, Urgo said.

Zylak said Thursday during a phone interview that he did not resign, but that the college simply did not renew his contract.

“They called me to human resources and ended my contract on Monday last week,” he said. “I wasn’t given a reason.”

Zylak said he called the president’s office and a vice president at the college to get a reason for being let go.

“I never heard back from either one of them,” he said Thursday morning.

He said that he had applied for several other jobs recently, including one at the college. “I had my resume out there” before being let go, he said.

Zylak was hired as the college’s interim director of public safety in April last year after losing his job as the St. Mary’s County director of public safety when the county commissioners eliminated the position.

Zylak, who lives in Leonardtown, started working in the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office in 1983 and was elected sheriff in 2002. He lost a re-election bid in 2006.

At St. Mary’s College, Zylak replaced Christopher Santiago, the former director of public safety at the college, who took over as head of public safety in September 2010 and left abruptly.

Over the last year Zylak worked with students to create a student advisory board for public safety.

“I though we were making headway with the relationship between students and public safety,” Zylak said. He said that his last evaluation in January was “above average.

“I will close this chapter to my life and am looking forward to the next chapter,” he said.

In the meantime, Melvin “Mac” McClintock will supervise the public safety officers until a new public safety director is hired, Keisha Reynolds, assistant vice president of external relations, said. McClintock, as the assistant director of human resources, has been an affirmative action officer for five years at St. Mary’s College and had a 20-year military career.

A search committee for a new director will be drawn from the college’s faculty, students and staff. The campus email said that the college hopes to appoint a new director “as soon as possible.”

jyeatman@somdnews.com