River Cities Business Journal: Education

Special to the River Cities Business Journal

Mohave Community College has named Michael Stephan, an experienced teacher of police and firefighter professionals, as director of the MCC Public Safety program.

Stephan, a California native, is a veteran law-enforcement and public-safety officer who will head the MCC program that trains firefighters and police officers and offers a variety of courses within the justice system.

“Mr. Stephan is very qualified to head up MCC's Public Safety program,” MCC Chancellor Tom Henry said. “With his exposure to law enforcement, fire fighting and behavioral sciences, as well as his experience as a program administrator, he is the person we need to move the current program at MCC forward to meet the future.”

Stephan also has years of mental health counseling experience and has served as associate faculty at Mission College and Santa Cruz Community College in California as well as the last three years at MCC in Bullhead City.

“I'm most enthusiastic about our possibilities,” Stephan said. “Much like MCC, the Public Safety program has filled a need, facilitated by fantastic staff and instructors. I've had the good fortune to gauge such a dynamic by the fact I've taught at MCC for three years. We have a wonderful opportunity here to become a leader in public safety training and education. What I bring to the table is the understanding of human nature - the difference between a human being and a human doing. Mistakes are possible since we are all human. And finally, there is the art of not taking one's self too seriously.”

Michael Kearns, vice chancellor of instruction at MCC, said, “We were looking for a person who has experience with and can relate to police officers and firefighters equally, and we believe Michael Stephan is that person.”

Students in the Public Safety program can earn an associate of applied sciences (AAS) in Administration of Justice or an AAS in Fire Science. They can also earn certificates in Administration of Justice as a corrections office, as an evidence and crime scene technician, in homeland security and terrorism, or in fire science.

In 2004, Stephan moved to Bullhead City. At MCC he taught classes ranging from Human Sexuality, Criminal Investigation, Rules of Evidence and Substantive Law to Introduction to Law Enforcement. He also was an instructor teaching at the Mohave Regional Police Academy on the MCC campus.

He has bachelor's and master's degrees in sociology from California State University at Dominquez Hills.

In 1993, Stephan was a recipient of the Monterey County Peace Officer's Association (MCPOA) Medal of Valor. In 1994, he received the MCPOA Officer of the Year Award as well as his second MCPOA Medal of Valor.