University of South Carolina Division of Law Enforcement and Safety

I am honored to have been a part of the inaugural cohort of the Excellence in Policing and Public Safety (EPPS) Program and to have earned an Executive Credential in Police Leadership from the University of South Carolina Joseph F. Rice School of Law. This 18-month adventure has been one of the training highlights of my career. I feel especially fortunate to have been able to go through the program with a few friends and in the process to have made many new ones. Even within law enforcement we tend to primarily network within our geographic regions or within our particular professional associations and subdisciplines. The beauty of this program was being able to get to know leaders outside my normal circles and to have such a variety of perspectives in our class discussions. Along the way, I formed lifelong friendships. Seth Stoughton has done a lot in his career, but this may go down as the biggest of the many feathers in his cap. Huge thanks to Chris Cowan, Maureen "Mo" McGough, Marc Brown. Ed. D, Erin Wilson, Wendy Regoeczi, Ph.D., MPH, Geoffrey Alpert, Ian T. Adams, Jackie Swindler, and others for all they did to contribute to the success of the program. Thanks also to Dean William Hubbard for his leadership and SC House Speaker Murrell Smith for, not just serving as our keynote speaker for graduation, but for also shepherding the funding through the legislature to make the program possible. As he mentioned in his keynote, when other states were defunding the police, South Carolina doubled down and provided additional funding to develop an elite program to IMPROVE the profession - not abandon it. That took courage, and we will surely see the dividends from that investment for years to come. Last, but certainly not least, thanks to Chris Wuchenich and Scott Prill who once again have supported me and my professional development as I took on "just one more thing". I wouldn't be where I'm at without the support of them and my family. For those interested, as the second cohort is winding down, applications are now being accepted for the third cohort which will run from June 2025 to January 2026. Future plans also include a masters degree program and a graduate certificate program as well as a variety of unique stand alone training opportunities for all of you life-long learners out there.

The FBINAA Charitable Foundation is pleased to announce the selection of T. J. Geary as the Section III Director. Thank You to the numerous applicants who applied for this position, we value everyone's willingness to volunteer to support our Charitable Foundation.