Police academy at MNE graduates 19

In her more than 25 years at Mercyhurst, Shirley Williams has worn many hats. Now she will be adding one more to her collection, as the new internal transfer coordinator.
Currently project administrator for the Mercyhurst College Public Safety Institute (PSI), Williams will be responsible for recruiting and assisting traditional and adult students at Mercyhurst North East, and eventually at the West and Corry campuses, who wish to transfer to the Erie campus after completing their degree. She will report to Dr. Michael Lyden, vice president of enrollment.
Williams will split her time equally between this position and her role with the PSI, where she is responsible for marketing and recruiting efforts for the Municipal Police Training Academy, administration and management of educational programs, and organizing the annual Mercyhurst College Kinnane Criminal Justice Conference and Awards Luncheon.
“I'm looking forward to working with our Mercyhurst students and facilitating their transition to the Erie campus,” said Williams.
Williams will oversee the internal transfer process from beginning to end. She will actively recruit students at the branch campuses by monitoring their progress and working with faculty to identify students who would benefit from transferring to the Erie campus to pursue a four-year degree. She will then contact the students and offer them guidance in the transfer process, including applying for financial aid, academic scheduling, and obtaining housing. Once the students are enrolled at the Erie campus, she will follow-up with them to throughout their first year to make sure their transition is going smoothly.
Part of Williams’ position will also be to help make students aware of the Dean’s Achievement Scholarships offered through Mercyhurst. Depending on their GPA, students at the branch campuses are eligible to receive up to $10,000 in scholarships when they transfer to the Erie campus.
“It essentially makes their cost to attend the Erie campus very close to what they were paying at the branch campuses,” said Lyden. “Hopefully it motivates them to do well and keep their GPA’s up, because that means more money for the students.”
Williams has been at Mercyhurst for more than 25 years, beginning in 1982 when she worked as an executive assistant for the criminal justice department while pursuing her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice with concentrations in corrections and sociology, and her master’s in administration of justice. She has organized the Kinnane Criminal Justice Conference since 1983, and in 1996 became the director of the Constable Education and Training program at MNE before being appointed to her current role at PSI in 2006. Williams is also involved with community wellness programs such as Safenet Domestic Violence, DWI Education, and Terrorism Awareness and Prevention. She was one of the Mercy Center for Women’s 2006 Women of the Year, received the Erie County Bar Association’s Liberty Bell Award in 2002 and was named Person of the Year by the Pennsylvania State Constables Association, also in 2002.
According to Lyden, Williams is a natural fit for the job.
“She has extensive experience both in Erie and North East, so she knows how things work at both campuses,” Lyden said. “Second, she has very good interpersonal skills and will be effective with both traditional and adult students. She’s a person they can feel comfortable with. Overall, she’s the perfect person to step into this position.”