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Obama Names C.W. Post Alumnus as National Teacher of the Year The former New York Police Department captain, who is now a special education teacher at the ARCH School in Greenwich, Conn., received his Bachelors of Arts in Criminal Justice with honors from the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University in 1990, and was also named Most Outstanding Graduate that year. Mullen’s mother and father, who survived the Great Depression, Nazi attacks, and served in World War II, but passed away when he was young, had dreamed of Mullen being the first of the family to attend college. Mullen worked in a factory to support himself, and then joined the NYPD as a police officer. He served on the force for 20 years, climbing the ranks to Captain. One day in Queens, Mullen met Sean Grennan, a retired police officer and C.W. Post professor. “He told me he was thinking about going back to school,” said Dr. Grennan. First, Grennan was his mentor and friend, and when Mullen enrolled at C.W. Post, he became his professor.“The C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University offered a special degree program that accommodated the fluctuating schedule of police officers and firefighters, and I jumped at the opportunity to be accepted to this unique program. I was proud to achieve the hope and aspirations of my parents and prove that childhood obstacles are not destiny, a belief that I would later instill in my at-risk students,” Mullen wrote in his application for the National Teacher of the Year Award. “Mullen’s accomplishments in and of themselves are great,” said Dr. Harvey Kushner, chair of C.W. Post’s Criminal Justice department. “My faculty and I remember him as an excellent student. Our program allows for a rigorous undergraduate curriculum that helps our students to grow their potential while successfully holding down a job.” In 2001, Mullen went on to obtain his Master of Science in Elementary Education and Special Education at Mercy College. After graduation, he sought teaching positions working with students with severe behavioral or emotional problems in order to utilize his background dealing with at-risk kids as a police officer. Mullen, who teaches grades 9-12, received the 2009 Connecticut State Teacher of the Year Award, along with several Greenwich teaching awards throughout his seven-year teaching career. Mullen and Dr. Grennan have remained good friends all these years. “I found out he was a contender for National Teacher of the Year, so I called him and said ‘I hope you get it,” said Dr. Grennan. “And, God bless him, he did. It’s an honor to our department.” Mullen was honored April 28 in what was officially the first ceremony President Obama has held in the White House Rose Garden, a place where many American citizens have been honored by presidents throughout history. Posted: April 30, 2009 |
| Long Island University | C.W. Post Campus |