CSU Chapter of the Order of the Sword & Shield National Honor Society

Did you know that in January 2015, Columbia Southern University was granted Charter Membership with the Order of the Sword & Shield National Honor Society?  Additionally, in the short span of just nine months since its charter, CSU has had more than 30 students, alumni, and faculty inducted into the chapter, making it one of the fastest growing chapters according to the Order of the Sword and Shield national director

The Order of the Sword and Shield is the first and only academic and professional honor society dedicated exclusively to homeland security, intelligence, emergency management, and all protective security disciplines. The mission of the Society is to promote critical thinking, high scholarship and professional development; to further enhance the ethical standards of the protective security professions; and to cultivate a high order of personal living.  In addition to its academic purpose, the Society is strongly committed to helping communities prepare for safety and emergency conditions and sponsors many types of informational events throughout the year

Chapter Coordinator, Professor DJ Phalen, MA, BSPH, EMT, CHPP (Homeland Security faculty member) has been working extensively with the national chapter on both expanding the membership and some exciting new concepts.  For starters, the following CSU programs have all been vetted through the national chapter, allowing our hard-working students the opportunity to apply for membership consideration and highlight their academic achievements.

Furthermore, Phalen is working with the Order of the Sword & Shield’s director of operations to develop an online induction ceremony for students and alumni, as well as an innovative hybrid in-person/virtual induction ceremony that could be conducted at one of the many CSU student and alumni events or even at graduation!

Finally, stay tuned for additional information about upcoming opportunities to apply for student officer positions (president, vice president, and secretary) and the ability to become more involved in assisting with the activities of the chapter.

For additional information about this great opportunity to highlight your academic achievements, please feel free to contact Professor Phalen at dennis.phalen@columbiasouthern.edu.  To apply for membership, please go to the link provided below in order to process your application directly with the Order of the Sword & Shield National Honor Society.

About: http://www.securityhonorsociety.org/about.html

To join: http://www.securityhonorsociety.org/join.html​

About Professor Dennis (DJ) Phalen, MA, BSPH, EMT, CHPP

Professor DJ Phalen is a full-time homeland security program faculty member at Columbia Southern University where he both teaches and writes courses for the Criminal Justice and Homeland Security program. Phalen holds a Master’s degree in Homeland Security, as well as a Bachelor’s degree in Public Health, is a Certified Homeland Protection Professional (CHPP), holds the Terrorism & Homeland Security Specialist designation granted by California Emergency Management Agency (CalEMA), as well as numerous honor society, academic and professional association memberships. He has professional and academic experience in the fields of counterterrorism, law enforcement, EMS and special operations EMS, federal and local disaster teams (DMAT and MRC), firefighting, healthcare and healthcare leadership, and served in the United States Navy. He previously served as the Medical Terrorism Liaison Officer (TLO) coordinator at a regional fusion center, served as the Counter-Terrorism/Hospital Counter-Terrorism advisor/trainer for a private security contractor where he also collaborated on an innovative active shooters in schools program, served five years as a medic/technical rescue specialist SRV/Sergeant with the sheriff’s department, is a member of the FBI’s Infragard Members Alliance, is contracted as a consultant/subject matter expert doing course review of new and existing FEMA/DHS training courses, and regularly contributes to CSU Talk Radio, several peer-reviewed professional journals, newsletters and blogs in the terrorism/counterterrorism and emergency management communities.