On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, as the first planes struck the World Trade Center, President George W. Bush read “My Pet Goat” to elementary students.
Outside that Florida classroom, wearing an all black suit and an earpiece, Brent Herron stood guard as a member of Bush’s personal protection — the United States Secret Service.
For Herron, now the vice president of campus safety and emergency operations for UNC-system schools, that morning would become one of many unforgettable moments in a lifelong career of security and law enforcement.
Now, nearly a decade later, after personally protecting all of the living presidents, from Jimmy Carter to Barack Obama, Herron works to ensure those kinds of moments don’t happen on North Carolina’s college campuses.
“It’s sort of like the equivalent of protecting the president. You can do everything you want to do, every day, 365 days a year, but there’s always a chance something can happen.”
Hired by the UNC system in response to the Virginia Tech shootings in 2007, Herron is responsible for preparing campuses for any threats that come their way.
“I’ve been there and done it, and just about everything I have learned in over 30 some years of being in this profession I use on a regular basis in this job,” he said.
Herron works with campus police departments to prepare and prevent everything from swine flu outbreaks to school shootings.
He also oversees the budget for campus safety for system schools.