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  Cooley Law School Distinguished Professor Emeritus Retired Brigadier General Michael McDaniel Honored by Center for Homeland Defense and Security

  LANSING, Mich. – Cooley Law School Distinguished Professor Emeritus Retired Brigadier General Michael McDaniel was honored by the Center for Homeland Defense and Security Naval Postgraduate School for his commitment to homeland security education. McDaniel received the Christopher Bellavita Educator Award during the 2026 CHDS Alumni Professional Exchange Continuing Education Workshop in February. Named after Christopher Bellavita, former CHDS director of academic programs who was instrumental in developing the Master's program, the award recognizes individuals for innovation in advancing the homeland defense and security mission and is a distinction within the CHDS at the Naval Postgraduate School. McDaniel, who retired from Cooley in 2025, served the law school as professor, dean and director of Cooley’s Homeland and National Security Law LL.M. Program for 13 years. As a former state Homeland Security Advisor and member of Michigan’s National Guard, he was named co-chair of the state's task force on terrorism by Governor John Engler and Attorney General Jennifer Granholm following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Additionally, McDaniel’s leadership and homeland security knowledge was paramount in the Flint Water Crisis, as well as helping Lansing restore power to 96,000 residents – 40 percent of Lansing’s Board of Water and Light's customers – who had been without power for 11 days following a massive ice storm in 2013.

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  Derek Matthews gives next generation of Cooley Law School students a start in legal profession in Tampa

  Derek Matthews (Vinson Class, 2017) is no stranger to giving back to Cooley Law School in the Tampa Bay region. Outside of legal practice, Matthews sponsors the annual Cooley Alumni Golf Outing in Tampa and participates in alumni events and mentoring programs to build relationships with faculty and fellow graduates.

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  Reda Taleb’s Life’s Work: Turning Pain into Purpose — and Giving It Back to Dearborn

  When Reda Taleb (McLean Class, 2015) talks about “giving back,” she isn’t just reciting a slogan — she’s living by example. The daughter of immigrants from Bint Jbeil, Lebanon, Taleb’s parents, along with her six older siblings, laid roots in Dearborn’s south end, an area known for its pollution-emitting factory smoke stacks and community of Arab Americans seeking the “American Dream.”

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