23rd Annual Veterans Day Ceremony

Michael McDaniel

Director, Homeland and National Security Law LL.M Program

WMU-Cooley Law School

B.A. St. Bonaventure University

J.D. Case Western Reserve University School of Law

MSS Army War College

M.A.S.S. Naval Postgraduate School



I joined the WMU-Cooley Law School full-time faculty as a professor in the Constitutional Law Department in 2010 and developed an LL.M. program in Homeland and National Security Law.

Before joining WMU-Cooley, I most recently served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Homeland Defense Strategy, Prevention and Mission Assurance. My responsibilities included supervision of the Department of Defense Critical Infrastructure Protection Program and Global Anti-Terrorism/Force Protection Policy.

I was appointed by Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm as her Homeland Security Adviser in 2003 and served in that capacity until July 2009. At the same time, I also served as the Assistant Adjutant General for Homeland Security, Michigan National Guard. My duties included acting as the liaison between the governor's office in Michigan and all federal, state and local agencies on homeland security with responsibility for developing statewide policy on homeland security preparedness and coordinating efforts to protect the state and its critical infrastructure from terrorist attacks.

I served as a member of the National Governors Association’s Homeland Security Advisors Council where I was elected to the executive committee in 2006 and 2008. I was named by the Office of Infrastructure Protection, Department of Homeland Security, as Chair of the State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Government Coordinating Council in 2007.

My military service included serving as the State Judge Advocate as a member of the Michigan National Guard for over 27 years, serving as a military judge and promotion to Brigadier General in 2007. I was formerly the Assistant Attorney General for Litigation in the Executive Division of the Michigan Department of Attorney General.

I received the Zimbardo Award, given to the Center for Homeland Defense and Security graduate who best embodies high academic achievement, outstanding leadership, and innovation in homeland security thinking. Other awards include the State Bar of Michigan Champion of Justice (2017) and the Michigan Lawyers Weekly Hall of Fame (2020).