February 9, 2011

The Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies presented: Luncheons with Leaders – Jonathan White

Professor Jonathan White is one of the world’s foremost authorities on Middle Eastern extremism and religious terrorism. Formerly dean of social science and director of the School of Criminal Justice at Grand Valley State University, Professor White currently serves as professor and chair of liberal studies and as executive director of the Homeland Defense Initiative. He has also won university awards for courses in history and criminal justice. Professor White is author of Terrorism and Homeland Security (2006) and Defending the Homeland (2004), but his writings on extremism and terrorism date back to the mid-1980s. Professor White earned his Ph.D. from Michigan State University in multi-disciplinary social science. He holds an M.Div. from Western Theological Seminary, and an M.A. and B.A. in history from Western Michigan University. In a former career he served in the Jackson (Michigan) police force as a member of the SWAT team. Today, Professor White consults widely on terrorism using his predictive models, and since 9/11 he has been a frequent advisor to thousands of police departments, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Secret Service, and the U.S. Departments of Justice, State, and Homeland Security. He received several awards — from the DOJ, FBI, and the Michigan House of Representatives — for his work after 9/11 directing State and Local Anti-Terrorism Training for the Institute of Intergovernmental Research.