UM-Dearborn partners with Macomb County Sheriff's Office for community service personnel scholarships

From left: Kevin Early, associate professor of sociology and director of UM-Dearborn's Criminal Justice Studies Program; Catherine A. Davy, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at UM-Dearborn; Anthony M. Wickersham, Macomb County Sheriff; and Jerold Hale, dean of the College of Arts, Sciences, and Letters at UM-Dearborn.

When Macomb County Sheriff Anthony M. Wickersham visited the campus of University of Michigan-Dearborn recently, it was to further his commitment to keep safe residents of his community.

Wickersham met with administrators at UM-Dearborn to formalize a partnership that makes the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office the ninth public safety organization to benefit from the campus’s community service personnel scholarship program.

UM-Dearborn’s community service personnel scholarships allow officers pursuing undergraduate or graduate degrees at UM-Dearborn the opportunity to receive a special scholarship that provides a credit for 20 percent of their tuition costs and fees each semester.

Prospective students may be admitted to any undergraduate or graduate program the university offers as long as the program’s admission and eligibility criteria are met. UM-Dearborn’s 20 percent tuition credit works in conjunction with any tuition reimbursement program offer by the law enforcement agencies.

This semester, 15 local police officers are furthering their education at a reduced cost thanks to the UM-Dearborn scholarship program. In addition to Macomb County Sheriff’s Office, the University has formed collaborations with eight other departments since 2009: Allen Park, Dearborn, Dearborn Heights, Detroit, Novi, Southfield, Taylor and the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office.

Partnerships with additional law enforcement agencies at all levels are in the works, according to Susan Cushnier, who helps associate Prof. Kevin Early, director of UM-Dearborn’s Criminal Justice Studies Program, manage the scholarship program.

Photo by Jenny Thelen.