Where do you call home?

Columbia, SC 

When did you first become interested in a law enforcement career? 

I was getting out of the Navy about 33 years ago and I went from one uniform to the next. A door opened for me to join the sheriff's department. It was not really something I ever thought I would do. I didn't picture myself being a cop, but God has a plan for everyone, and I had to listen to his calling. I spent the next 32 years in law enforcement. 

Is there anything you’ve learned – either in the classroom or outside it – that has changed your perception of law or justice?  

I think everything in my career. Every day there was a new challenge, a new threat to the community, whether we were dealing with the rise in crime, or the rise in homelessness, or the rise in mental health issues. My law enforcement career changed my perspective completely, on the law, on justice, on providing grace to people, providing support to people.    

Would you share a challenge you overcame in your career? 

Where do I start? Academia is a much different environment. Not in a bad way, it's just there's a learning curve for me, coming to academia. As I transition into the academic theoretical position, I’m thinking about how I’m presenting myself and our theories and processes in a different way. 

From a bigger perspective, in terms of my leadership journey, the challenge for me was trying to transition from being transactional to being relational. Taking on leadership and professional development in a new environment is challenging, but I want to learn how to be a servant leader.  

What positions have you held in law enforcement?  

I've worn a lot of different hats in my career and had the opportunity to serve in different capacities that allowed me to grow, whether it was fiscal responsibility to community policing, to public information and public affairs, to special operations and critical incident response. It's been a unique experience. One day I was dealing with riots and protests, and the next day I was dealing with county council and the budget. That was a lot of fun. 

Who do you think would be most interested in participating in this program? 

First and foremost, there are people that maybe have not primarily studied criminology or even want to be in law enforcement but want to understand the profession, and the people in the profession, better. Then there are the people actually working in law enforcement agencies throughout the state who need training and support. They may have smaller budgets, but that doesn't mean they have people that are smaller in passion and professionalism. 

I think it’s exciting that we're able to positively impact so many different people. Maybe it's somebody that's presently a sergeant and one day they want to be a chief, or they want to be a sheriff, and we have the opportunity as part of EPPS to help them get a foundation to learn things that I wish I had had 15 or 20 years ago, that I had to learn the hard way. 

What do you think people need to know about the law school’s EPPS and Master’s in Public Safety Executive Leadership programs?  

Number one, I think the EPPS program is poised to make a huge impact on the state of South Carolina. I think the excitement for me is going from serving in law enforcement to now serving and supporting different departments around the state and being able to use relationships and networks that we've built to make a difference in the profession. South Carolina is unique in that we have law enforcement that are on the cutting edge, that are innovative and working closely with local, state and federal agencies.  

And then two, the EPPS program is on the brink of being something that has never been done in South Carolina: the creation of a program that is creating excellence and helping people move from being really good and really professional, to being even better. 

Can you explain a little more about what makes the EPPS and Master’s in Public Safety Executive Leadership programs unique? 

The difference between this and something like a symposium or a training course is that it's set up in four different sections. The master's program; a grad certificate program; executive training, for those who want to become better leaders but don’t want a graduate degree or certificate; and the research component, which connects people with technical assistance and resources across the country.  

Also, I think we have something that nobody in this country has: a director of education and training with a Ph.D. I love the fact that she's in the classroom with me as I'm teaching, critiquing me and telling me better ways to share this information. That makes us extremely unique, and I don't think there's anywhere in the country that has a person like this on staff full time not only for the curriculum but, more importantly, for the instructors, to make sure that we are setting a very high standard.