Port Security Management

Kenneth Christopher, DPA, holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice (University of Dayton) and master’s (Florida International University) and doctoral (Nova Southeastern University) degrees in public administration. He is a graduate of the Administrative Officers Management Program at North Carolina State University and the Executive Contemporary Education for Leadership Program at the University of Miami. Dr. Christopher served 26 years in law enforcement, most recently as a captain with the Miami-Dade Police Department in Miami, Florida. From 1996 to 2006, he held progressively responsible police and security management positions at the Port of Miami. In 2005, he was appointed chief of seaport security enforcement and facility security officer, responsible for the port facility security plan, leadership for the civilian security staff, and the coordination of security and law enforcement operations at the world’s largest passenger cruise port. Currently, Dr. Christopher is associate vice president for academic affairs and associate professor of criminal justice at Park University, which provides educational services to 26,000 students at over 40 campus centers across the United States and through distance learning from its home campus in Parkville, Missouri. He has held teaching positions at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida, and at St. Thomas University in Miami, Florida. Previously, Dr. Christopher has worked with the U.S. Maritime Administration and the Organization of American States as a curriculum developer and instructor in the Inter-American Port Security Training Program. He has consulted on and developed educational programs and curricula in port security, criminal justice administration, security administration, terrorism and domestic preparedness, police management, and organizational behavior. His current interests include cooperative leadership strategies for port security management and assessing human and technology resources necessary for maritime domain awareness.