Mars Hill University hires new director of safety and security

Announcement from Mars Hill University:

Richard (Rick) D. Schwein Jr. has joined the staff of Mars Hill University as Director of the Department of Safety and Security and as a member of the criminal justice faculty.

Schwein has more than 31 years of service to the federal government, including 26 years as a special agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. In 2011, he was appointed to the Senior Executive Service in the FBI Counterterrorism Division and was detailed to the CIA Counterterrorism Center at Langley, Virginia as the Deputy Director for Law Enforcement.

In 2012, Schwein was selected by then-Director Robert Mueller as Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of the FBI Birmingham Division. Schwein retired from government service in December 2014 and returned to western North Carolina, where he has maintained a home since 2001.

According to President Dan Lunsford, Schwein’s impressive credentials make him the perfect fit for an increased emphasis on safety and security at Mars Hill University.

“We are pleased that Mr. Rick Schwein has joined Mars Hill University as the Director of Safety and Security,” Lunsford said. “He brings to the University extensive experience in law enforcement and risk prevention management.  We are elevating the emphasis on safety and security for the MHU community; inclusive of enhanced relationships with local law enforcement and fire prevention officials.  Mr. Schwein will be ‘on the point’ for this effort.”

Prior to his service in the FBI, Schwein was an intelligence officer in the U.S. Army and spent five years in Airborne and special mission units. He was Ranger qualified and his military service included participation in combat in the Middle East as part of a joint special operations expeditionary force.

He began his FBI career in the Charlotte Division where he worked both criminal and national security matters. He was a certified undercover employee, served on a SWAT team, was a member of the evidence response team and was certified as a police instructor.

While in Charlotte, Mr. Schwein was awarded the FBI Director’s Award of Excellence for Outstanding Counterterrorism Investigation.

In 2001, Schwein was named supervisor of the Asheville and Hickory, North Carolina resident agencies. Additionally, he supervised the manhunt for FBI “Top Ten” fugitive and serial bomber Eric Robert.  In 2004, Schwein volunteered to serve as the FBI operations supervisor during the early phases of “Operation Iraqi Freedom”.

Schwein was subsequently assigned in 2006 as the FBI senior representative to the United States Special Operations Command at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, where he was part of a team responsible for synchronizing global operations against violent extremist networks.

In 2008 Schwein was assigned as the FBI Legal Attaché in Sana’a, Republic of Yemen, where he had responsibility for all FBI activities in southern Arabia and the Horn of Africa. Schwein was awarded the FBI Medal of Valor for his actions during an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Sana’a by al Qa’ida suicide terrorists. (Schwein and his father are the only father-son recipients of the FBI’s highest award for bravery in the history of the Bureau.)

Schwein was a Distinguished Military Graduate and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in political science from Radford University in Radford, Virginia. He also holds a Master of Arts degree in national security studies-homeland security and national defense from the United States Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California.

He has been married to his wife, Sue, for over 25 years and is the proud father of twin daughters.

Mars Hill University is a premier private, liberal arts institution offering over 30 baccalaureate degrees and one graduate degree in elementary education. Founded in 1856 by Baptist families of the region, the campus is located just 20 minutes north of Asheville in the mountains of western North Carolina.www.mhc.edu  .