Michelle Camden Appointed New NUCPS Director

On Monday, Nov. 16, Northwestern University School of Professional Studies Dean Thomas Gibbons announced the appointment of Michelle Camden as the new Director of the Center for Public Safety.

Joining NUCPS in 2008 as an associate director and promoted to deputy director in 2011, Shelly has been a positive leader for improvement and growth at NUCPS, being particularly proud of initiating and implementing the successful School of Police Staff & Command Online program. Among her other accomplishments over the last 10 years, Shelly spearheaded the growth and globalization of SPSC and led the development of our other popular NUCPS online courses, all while successfully managing the management training, crash investigation and reconstruction, and transportation engineering divisions. Additionally, she is a popular SPSC instructor, teaching units on federal employment law, discipline, civil liability, and internal conflict in employee relations.

Prior to her career at Northwestern, Shelly served for more than 10 years as a practicing attorney and labor arbitrator and was listed on the roster of arbitrators for several national and regional panels. During her law career, she represented police officers and civilians in a variety of forums, including in Illinois trial and appellate courts and at administrative hearings before the Illinois State Labor Relations Board and Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board and was responsible for the negotiation and administration of more than 20 collective bargaining agreements. She has handled matters of interest arbitration and grievance arbitration hearings on issues arising under collective bargaining agreements as well as under the FLSA, ADA, FMLA, and Title VII.

Shelly is a published author of articles on discipline for off-duty conduct, public sector labor law, and Res Judicata for law enforcement and fire professionals. She earned her JD from Northern Illinois University and her BA from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and maintains her membership in the Illinois State Bar Association.

Please join the NUCPS staff and community in congratulating Shelly on her well-deserved appointment!

Back to top