Clemson University Police Department (CUPD) Captain Chris Harrington ’04, M’19 has been named Deputy Chief of Police, while Megan Hembree has been named Director of TigerOne Card Services.
Harrington began his career with CUPD in 2005 and has served at all levels of the organization throughout his 19-year career. Most recently, he served as the Commander of the Operations Bureau with previous leadership roles as Commander of the Investigations and Support Bureau, Professional Development and Training Commander and Uniform Patrol Lieutenant. Through these roles, Harrington has overseen nearly every facet of the department during his career.
“Chris has distinguished himself as a leader and staunch advocate for CUPD, Clemson University and the surrounding community,” said Associate VP for Public Safety and Chief of Police Greg Mullen. “He has worked diligently to develop relationships and connections with University and community partners that support Clemson University Public Safety’s purpose of Enhancing Safety, Reducing Risk and Preventing Harm. His commitment and dedication to excellence is demonstrated daily through his professionalism, work ethic and strength of character.”
Harrington has been the project team lead for over $1 million in awarded state and federal grant programs, partnering with Clemson faculty researchers in grant-funded programs. Together, they worked to create a response strategy to address the growing concerns surrounding mental health and co-occurring disorders, along with research on how officer experience and training impacts decision-making during response to calls for service.
“I am deeply honored to serve as the next Deputy Chief of Police at Clemson University,” Harrington said. “This great institution has given so much to me and it is my privilege to continue to give back to Clemson in every way that I can. Our team in Public Safety is truly remarkable and every day they do their very best to set a standard of excellence in service to others. I look forward to continuing the exceptional work and commitment to our community that we have embarked on these many years.”
The two-time Clemson graduate was honored with the Clemson University Alumni Association’s Roaring 10 Award in 2021 for his community impact and outstanding service to the University. Harrington also graduated from the fourth cohort of the President’s Leadership Institute (PLI) in 2020.
Harrington has led organizational planning and response as Incident Commander and Operations Section Chief for numerous law enforcement incidents affecting the Clemson University community. He is a state and nationally certified instructor in numerous law enforcement disciplines, providing both first responder training and community education on topics such as leadership development, mental health crisis response, active bystandership and duty to intervene, and active threat preparedness.
Harrington holds two degrees from Clemson, earning a Bachelor of Science in Psychology in 2004 and a Master of Public Administration in 2019. He is also a graduate of the FBI-LEEDA Command and Executive Leadership Institutes, the 76th Session of the Police Executive Research Forum Senior Management Institute for Police, and Executive Education Program coursework through the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
Hembree joined Clemson and the TigerOne team in 2017, playing a key role in mobile credentials, access control and video management. During Clemson’s response to COVID-19, Hembree engaged in many of the projects that allowed Clemson to manage access to buildings and protect the campus.
“I am appreciative of all Megan’s work to support the Clemson enterprise and grateful she is now leading TigerOne,” Mullen said. “Her knowledge, skills, and competencies have been instrumental to many of the creative and significant projects completed by TigerOne. Megan’s technical skills, creativity, and ‘can do’ attitude has allowed Public Safety to optimize our technology systems and enhance the overall safety and security of main campus and our innovation campuses.”
Hembree has had a hand in a number of key projects for TigerOne. During her tenure, Clemson was the fourth university in the nation to implement Mobile ID in Apple Wallet. She also led the creation of a self-service ID management solution that allows Clemson cardholders to obtain and reset their TigerOne ID at any time, from anywhere.
“I would like to express my sincere gratitude for the opportunity to step into this new role as Director for TigerOne,” said Hembree. “It’s an honor and a challenge, and I am truly thankful for the trust placed in me. Since 2017, I’ve had the pleasure of working with the TigerOne and Public Safety teams to help shape and create a secured and innovative campus environment. As I navigate this path, I look forward to learning and contributing to our collective success. Together, we’ll continue to build a campus environment that promotes safety while fostering growth, accessibility and community.”
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Hembree helped implement a secured campus model, utilizing the Mobile ID and the online ID Management solution, which persists on campus in the post-COVID environment. In collaboration with Public Safety, TigerOne and Hembree have worked to implement best practices for security devices, such as classroom access control devices, video solutions and lockdown buttons.