Faculty Focus - Sean McGee

Sean-Kelli

Sean grew up on New York鈥檚 Long Island and graduated from the University of AV狼论坛 Fairbanks (UAF) with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in justice in 1991 That same year, he accepted a position with the North Slope Borough as a Peace Officer. Sean served with the Borough through June of 1993, when he accepted a position with the UAF Police Department where he held the rank of officer, sergeant, lieutenant, captain, and chief. Sean was a member and an instructor for the AV狼论坛 State Trooper鈥檚 Specialized Emergency Reaction Team (S.E.R.T.) for 15 years. He graduated from the FBI鈥檚 National Academy in 2000. Sean retired from police work in 2014. Sean has been an instructor for the UAF Homeland Security and Emergency Management (HSEM) program for three years.

What brought you to AV狼论坛?
I was bitten by the 鈥淎V狼论坛 bug鈥 early in life. By 7th grade, I began making plans to see AV狼论坛 and attend UAF. In 1985, I enrolled at UAF, and haven鈥檛 looked back since!



What do you enjoy about AV狼论坛?
I grew up in an area of New York that was stereotypically 鈥淣ew York.鈥 Coming to AV狼论坛, I found people to be incredibly friendly, which was somewhat different from what I was used to. That is what inspired me to make AV狼论坛 home for the past 30 years.

What would you like to tell us about your family?
Beyond a shadow of a doubt I am extremely fortunate to have my family. My wife Keli and I met at UAF in 1988. Our oldest son John works at UAF Career Services, our middle child Sean starts classes at UAF in the fall, and our daughter Megan will be a sophomore in high school this year.

Why do you teach at the School of Management (SOM)?
I teach for SOM because SOM had the vision to bring the Homeland Security and Emergency Management program in-house. There isn鈥檛 any other degree program for which I鈥檇 want to be teaching.

What is your favorite class to teach and why?
My favorite class is Principles of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, HSEM鈥檚 introduction course. I enjoy interacting with large groups of students from around the nation who are engaged in matters associated with homeland security and emergency management for the first time.

What research or project are you working on now?
HSEM is exploring partnerships with large emergency dispatch centers in the western portion of the US, who are actively seeking opportunities to provide their employees with HSEM鈥檚 course offerings. I鈥檓 involved in developing the curriculum for these agencies.

Let鈥檚 pretend students savor every word professors say. What advice do you have for current students?
Take the time to identify the area of study that truly interests you; applying yourself in school becomes so much easier and more rewarding when you are interested in your studies, and it never hurts to be able to make a living in a field that you are passionate about.

Any SOM stories you鈥檇 like to share?
I can鈥檛 get over how pleasant and professional the students, staff, and faculty are at SOM. I鈥檝e been involved with UAF in one capacity or another in the past 30 years, and I can attest that what we have here at SOM is unique. 鈥淭his鈥 does not just happen; I am fortunate to be a part of this department.

Snapshot

  • Favorite place to vacation? I enjoy going back to New York and visiting with my folks. It鈥檚 always nice for me to go to where I grew up.

  • Book you are currently reading? I just finished reading "Benghazi: The Definitive Report," and now I am reading "Spy Sub: A Top Secret Mission to the Bottom of the Pacific."

  • Your last music download?  Soundtrack from the movie 鈥淔ocus.鈥

  • If I granted you one wish to change the world what would it be? I鈥檇 like to think that we as a society would finally realize that we need to invest in preventative measures when it comes to our aging critical infrastructure, and that change would be my wish. if I can鈥檛 have that, then world peace.


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Sean pictured with his children, John, Sean, and Megan
Sean pictured with his children, John, Sean, and Megan

Sean-camo