Northwestern University Center for Public Safety - SPSC Scholarship

Northwestern University Center for Public Safety has provided two full scholarships for their prestigious ten-week school of Police Staff and Command, including room and board, on site in Evanston, IL.  Captain Charles “Andy” Robinson and Commander Christopher McCann were named as the recipients of the 2008 Northwestern University Center for Public Safety Scholarships and attended the October - December 2008 class.

Captain Robinson is currently an Administrative Captain at the Fort Mill, SC Police Department and has been voted Fort Mill Police Officer of the Year twice by his peers.  The town of Fort Mill has seen an explosion in growth in recent years and Captain Robinson’s responsibilities have grown along with it; he is responsible for the department’s budget, supervision of school resource officers, personnel, internal affairs and developing departmental policies and procedures.

In Capt. Robinson's words:

“My time at the Northwestern University Center for Public Safety is one that will not soon be forgotten.  While there were a variety of police leaders attending the class, we were all told to ‘leave our egos at the door’ and to recognize that we were all equal when it came to the learning objectives and expectations in this extremely demanding course.”

“I wasn’t as familiar with NUCPS as some of my classmates were, but I quickly learned that both the center and the SPSC course are rich with tradition and highly respected within the professional law enforcement community.  During the ten weeks I spent on campus, I was exposed to training and information that definitely has equipped me to be a better law enforcement officer, and certainly has increased my ability to pursue my career goal of becoming a police chief.”

“I have made contacts and, more importantly, friends that I will have for a lifetime.  These friends, along with the SPSC staff and instructors, are an invaluable asset and I know I can call on anyone of them at anytime for advice.  My colleagues came from agencies as small as 11-person departments all the way up to Chicago Police Department, and that kind of network will be incredibly important to me as I face many different challenges as a chief.”

“I would like to thank the IACP Foundation for this opportunity that I probably could not have experienced if it was not for their scholarship program.  This was an experience of a lifetime and I am thankful and grateful to the people who made it possible.”

Commander Christopher McCann has risen through the ranks of the Normandy, MO Police Department over the course of his 11 year career and currently oversees special operations, investigations, internal affairs, communications, and human resources. 

In Cmdr. McCann's words:

“The department that I am employed by has definitely been burdened by these economic times and there is no way I would have been able to attend this training without the scholarship provided to me by the IACP Foundation.”

“Before I left for SPSC, I spoke with several past graduates who told me that the education they received there was among the finest in their career.  After my first week of class, I realized that I was in store for a difficult workload!  But it truly was rewarding.”

“I found that, at the conclusion of my ten weeks of training, I was able to look back on some of the decisions I had made as an administrator and reevaluate them in light of new information.  I am more confident in my decision making because I was given the tools to ensure I reach good, solid, well-informed conclusions.”

“I learned valuable lessons, real-life scenarios, and management strategies that will undoubtedly pay dividends to both me and my department and will translate into better leadership for the people in our agency.”