Former Deputy Commissioner of Counterterrorism for the New York City Police Department, Michael Sheehan Joins the Center on Law and Security as a Distinguished Fellow

May 15, 2006 - The Center on Law and Security at NYU School of Law is pleased to announce Former Deputy Commissioner of Counterterrorism for the New York City Police Department, Michael Sheehan, has joined the Center as a Distinguished Fellow from May 2006 through the next academic year.  This fellowship is designed to enable the world’s foremost counterterrorism experts to step away temporarily from public service in order to consider new approaches to fighting terrorism. 

With his thirty-three years of experience in public service – at the White House, at the UN, at the NYPD, and in the military – Sheehan stands alone in his diverse and extensive exposure to the structures and issues that are central to security policy.  He joins the Center with plans to write about his experiences and his recommendations for the future.  As part of his fellowship, he will co-edit with the Center’s Director, Karen Greenberg, a series entitled For the Record which will present non-partisan formal analyses of major security issues and policies including port security, the Patriot Act, critical infrastructure, foreign investment and more.  In addition, while at the Center Michael Sheehan will convene roundtables designed to broaden and deepen national security policy in the United States.

Sheehan’s counterterrorism record extends back to the 1990s when, following the embassy bombings in East Africa, he became the Department of State’s Ambassador at Large for Counterterrorism.  Following his retirement from the Army as a Lieutenant Colonel, Sheehan was appointed a Deputy Secretary of State in the Bureau of International Organizations.  He has served under three National Security Advisors and two Presidents (George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton).  He holds a B.A. from West Point, an M.A. from Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service and an M.A. from the US Army Command/General Staff College. 

The Center on Law and Security is an institute devoted to the creative examination of policy issues that concern national and international security.  Its founding principal is that security policy needs to involve practitioners and policy makers and experts in sustained non-partisan dialogue about threats and the realistic effective response to those threats. 

For more information on the Center on Law and Security Fellowship Program contact Director of Fellowships and Special Programs, Jennifer Buntman at 212-992-8854 or buntmanj@juris.law.nyu.edu