By The Associated Press for Statesman.com

AUSTIN, TEXAS — A fired Texas A&M University executive who went on to help lead a state public safety agency has a new job in juvenile justice.

The Department of Public Safety on Tuesday temporarily reassigned Jay Kimbrough as a special assistant to the new Juvenile Justice Department. Recent violence has drawn attention to the six state-run youth prisons.

The close friend of Gov. Rick Perry is an ex-special master and conservator of the former Texas Youth Commission.

Kimbrough says he'll visit the units and that security is fundamental.

Kimbrough last September was dismissed as A&M's deputy chancellor. He brandished a pocketknife after being fired but later said he was joking.

Kimbrough early this year was named second-in-command at DPS. The 64-year-old ex-Marine makes $147,500 annually and will keep his DPS salary.