Michael F. Easley
Governor
State of North Carolina
Office of the Governor
Governor's Press Office
State Capitol, Raleigh, NC 27603-8001
(919) 733-5612 - Toll Free 1-800-662-7005
FAX (919) 733-5166
For Release: IMMEDIATE Contact: Cari Boyce
Date: November 1, 2002 Phone: (919) 733-5612
NC PUBLIC SAFETY SECRETARY HONORED BY UNIVERSITY
RALEIGH – Bryan E. Beatty, Secretary of the N.C. Department of Crime Control & Public Safety, will be named one of UNC-Chapel Hill's outstanding black alumni at the annual Black Alumni Reunion held at the university this weekend. Beatty is one of five recipients of the Harvey E. Beech Outstanding Alumni Award, established to recognize black alumni who are "stellar leaders within the University community or in his or her local community." The awards will be presented at a banquet Friday night. "Bryan has always excelled at any job I have asked him to do," said Governor Mike Easley, who named Beatty as his Public Safety secretary in January 2001. "When terrorists attacked the United States last year, there was no question who I wanted to lead North Carolina's preparedness efforts. This award is recognition of Bryan’s many accomplishments." Beatty chairs the Governor's Terrorism Preparedness Task Force, which was put in place after the September 11th attacks to assess the threat in North Carolina and improve the state's ability to interdict and respond to terrorist activity. He also coordinates the state's efforts with the federal Office of Homeland Security.
As Secretary of the 2,600-member Department of Crime Control & Public Safety, he oversees the state's primary law enforcement and emergency response agencies. The department's divisions include the State Highway Patrol, Alcohol Law Enforcement, Emergency Management and the National Guard. Beatty is a 1987 graduate of the University of North Carolina School of Law. A native of Salisbury, he earned his B.A. in Political Science from the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 1980. He was graduated from the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation Academy at Salemburg in 1981 and served as an SBI agent until 1984, when he entered law school.
Beatty practiced with the law firm of Johnson, Toal & Battiste in Columbia, South Carolina, before being recruited to return to the N.C. Department of Justice. At Justice, he served as a staff attorney assigned to represent the UNC Hospital system and as an Assistant Attorney General in the Motor Vehicles Section. In November 1997, he was named the first Inspector General for the State, where he was responsible for a staff of attorneys and investigators charged with the investigation, prosecution and prevention of fraud in state public assistance programs.