Washington ( CNN ) -- Transportation Security Administration chief John Pistole said Thursday he will resign at the end of the year , ending his run as the longest-serving administrator of the government agency entrusted with keeping terrorists off planes , trains and other means of transport . Pistole , 58 , who was the FBI 's deputy director before joining the TSA more than four years ago , made the surprise announcement to employees at a town hall meeting , which was broadcast to TSA facilities nationwide . He has been nominated to become president of Anderson University , a private Christian university in central Indiana where he earned his undergraduate degree in 1978 . During his tenure , Pistole became a forceful advocate of `` risk-based security '' in which the government sought to mitigate risks by taking certain precautions and of the TSA 's PreCheck program , which employed that philosophy to reduce checkpoint lines . But risk-based security also factored into his most public misstep . In 2013 , Pistole announced the TSA would allow small knives and certain other banned items onto aircraft , saying their risk had been mitigated by locked cockpit doors . The change would have brought the United States into alignment with other countries that allow such items . The knife announcement met with an instant and furious response from flight attendants , pilots , passengers and lawmakers . The TSA pulled back the plan shortly before it was to take effect and later abandoned the idea altogether . TSA drops plan to allow small knives on planes . On Thursday , some members of Congress and employee groups lined up to give accolades to Pistole . U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson , D-Mississippi , ranking member on the House Committee on Homeland Security , cited Pistole for his work on the PreCheck program and for his decision to allow airport screeners the right to bargain collectively . The American Federation of Government Employees , which represents 45,000 airport screeners , said Pistole 's efforts had led to `` advances in safety , working conditions , and morale . '' Pistole became administrator in June 2010 . In a statement Thursday , Pistole thanked TSA employees for their work . `` I could not be more proud of all that our employees have accomplished together , particularly what they have done to help enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of transportation security while improving the passenger screening experience . ''
NEW : Pistole is nominated to be president at his alma mater , Anderson University . TSA chief John Pistole surprises agency employees with announcement . Under Pistole , TSA backed off plan to allow small knives , other items back on flights . Lawmakers , union praise Pistole 's leadership at TSA .