William Forrester

Dr. William Forrester serves Walden as core faculty in the School of Public Policy and Administration (SPPA). His primary responsibilities include serving on doctoral capstone committees, teaching courses, and serving as the chief academic officer's designee for the SPPA.

Dr. Forrester retired from the Memphis Police Department in 2024 as the accreditation manager at the rank of sergeant. He was awarded with the departments unit citation in 2011, received the Ridgeway Station Officer of the Month Award in October 2013, and the Executive Administration Officer of the Year Award for 2022. Dr. Forrester is a Law Enforcement Advancing Data and Science (LEADS) Scholar with the National Institute of Justice and a former Policing Fellow with the National Police Institute

From 2016 to 2023, Dr. Forrester served as a commissioner on the Tennessee Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission, which is the administrative body responsible for setting the standards for the training and certification of the state's law enforcement officers. While on the commission, he served two years on both the Informal Disciplinary Hearing Committee and the Rules Committee.

Dr. Forrester has experience teaching at the secondary and postsecondary levels. He was the band director at Wooddale High School for the 2007-2008 school. He taught in the undergraduate Criminal Justice Program at Southwest Tennessee Community College in 2014.

Education

PhD, Walden University

MSDA, Western Governors University

MSCJ, Bethel University

BM, Lambuth University

Awards / Honors

2022 Executive Administration Officer of the Year, Memphis Police Department, 2023

Excellence Award, Western Governors University, 2023

Ridgeway Station Officer of the Month, Memphis Police Department, 2013

Unit Citation, Memphis Police Department, 2011

Presentations

Forrester, W., Defalu, D. (2022). Police Research Advancement Section: Recruitment, Selection, and Retention Webinar. International Association of Chiefs of Police