Expert
on Homeland Security to Speak at MCCC Oct. 7
9/17/08
Richard L. Cañas,
director of the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness
(OHSP), will discuss "Homeland Security Matters in New Jersey"
on Tuesday, Oct. 7 at 12 noon at Mercer County Community College.
Presented as part of the college's 2008 Distinguished Lecture Series,
this free talk takes place in the Communications Building, Room
107, on the West
Windsor campus, 1200 Old Trenton Road.
"Director Cañas has a very important leadership responsibility,"
observes Dr. Peter Horne, coordinator of MCCC's Criminal Justice
Program. "In the seven years since the attacks of 9/11, homeland
security remains as crucial as ever. OHSP's mission is not only
to keep New Jersey safe from terrorism, but also to protect citizens
from such catastrophic events as hurricanes, floods and plane crashes."
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NJ
Homeland Security and Preparedness
Director Richard Canas
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Before
assuming his current post, Cañas was a director at the nonprofit
Concurrent Technologies Corporation, a national security consulting firm
based in Johnstown, PA. Previously, he spent 34 years in law enforcement,
intelligence, counter terrorism and policy making at the national level.
He served as director of the National Drug Intelligence Center and was
the special agent in charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's
(DEA) Divisional Office in Phoenix, AZ. As part of the DEA, he served
on the National Security Council as director for Counternarcotics for
the G.H.W. Bush administration and later as director for Counterterrorism
and Counternarcotics under the Clinton administration. He also served
as a special assistant to the Latin American section of the Central Intelligence
Agency.
Cañas began his public service career as a patrolman and detective.
He earned a bachelor's degree in Law Enforcement Administration from California
State University at San Jose and teaching credentials from the University
of California at Berkeley.
Mercer's Criminal Justice Program focuses on two areas of concentration:
Law
Enforcement and Corrections.
Graduates from the program earn an associate in science degree and are
prepared for careers in criminal justice and for transfer to four-year
institutions.
To learn more about upcoming lectures at Mercer County Community College,
click here
or call 609-570-3324.
Directions
to MCCC
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