Outgoing President Paul V. Verrecchia bestowed the Presidents Award to longtime Government Relations Committee Chair Mike Webster of McDaniel College, stating that his tireless efforts have moved IACLEAs government relations program progressively forward. The presentation took place at the Opening Ceremony/Awards Presentations on Saturday, June 16, in Reno, Nevada.
This past year alone, Mike has coordinated two major reorganizations of the Government Relations Committee and was instrumental in efforts to revamp the annual Capitol Hill Day, both with positive results, Verrecchia said. The committee was restructured and streamlined to allow it to respond rapidly to breaking developments in Congress and with federal agencies. Capitol Hill Day was revamped to bring to Washington D.C. selected members from districts with key Congressional committee leaders.
Verrecchia also cited the work of Webster and Lisa Phillips, Director of Government and External Relations, in advancing legislation to create a National Center for Campus Public Safety and to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act. He has also served as a valuable resource for the Department of Educations negotiated rule making committee, which drafted regulations to implement amendments to the Clery Act, the federal campus crime reporting law, adopted by Congress as part of the 2008 Higher Education Opportunities Act. Webster was also selected and served as a content reviewer for the Department of Educations project to develop and publish the latest Clery Act Handbook.
In addition, Webster has represented IACLEA well at meetings of the National Partnership to Prevent Gun Violence, a coalition of ten law enforcement associations and organizations dedicated to reducing gun violence. He has also represented IACLEA at meetings of the FBIs Uniform Crime Reporting group. Any time Mike has been called upon by the leadership of IACLEA, he has responded in a professional and knowledgeable fashion, Verrecchia said.
An IACLEA member since 1994, Webster has served as Director of Campus Safety at McDaniel College in Westminster, Maryland, since 1991. Before that he served as Assistant Director of Public Safety at Emerson College (1986-1991) and as Operations Manager and Sergeant at Wentworth Institute (1983-1986), both located in Boston, Massachusetts.
Webster earned a bachelor of science degree in Criminal Justice from Northeastern University and a master of science degree in Human Resource Development from McDaniel College. He was certified as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) in 1982 and as a Paramedic in 1996. He served in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserves from 1988 to 1991.
He is an adjunct professor in the sociology department at McDaniel College and has presented and lectured at numerous professional conferences. Webster has maintained his Certified Protection Professional (CPP) credential from ASIS-International since 1987.
The Presidents Award is bestowed to an IACLEA member for service above and beyond the call of duty.
