Michael Ball promoted to Emergency Manager

HFC Campus Safety Assistant Manager and Clery Act Compliance Officer Michael Ball has recently been promoted to HFC Emergency Manager.

Ball is responsible for developing, implementing, and sustaining a comprehensive, all-hazards emergency management program for the HFC campuses. This role involves planning, coordination, training, response, recovery, and mitigation functions, which require strong relationship management across all campus departments and with external agencies. The Emergency Manager supports a culture of preparedness, transparency in communications, and responsiveness in emergencies. It emphasizes the wellbeing of the campus community.

“Multiple people in Campus Safety were doing different duties required of this position. One person was needed to fulfill this role to make sure the College meets all the federal requirements. There needed to be a tighter focus,” said Ball, of Grosse Ile. “Our Emergency Operations Plan (requires HFC login) was recently updated, but still needs some additional details, and we need to expand training and readiness on the HFC campus.”

Maintaining continuity of operations in emergencies

Ball, who oversees many Campus Safety officers and security contract officers, wants to implement additional emergency preparedness training and drills for HFC employees and students to create a seamless response in the event of an emergency at the College.

“Everyone needs to know what their responsibilities are, so we can maintain continuity of operations,” he said.

Ball also wants to increase the lines of communication community partners such as the University of Michigan-Dearborn,
the Dearborn Police Department, and the city of Dearborn.

Ball will oversee special projects, including Campus Safety-related technological upgrades, such as implementing a new access control system, new emergency cameras, and new lock systems.

Ball will also remain the Clery Act Compliance Officer, and will continue to report to HFC Campus Safety Manager Karen Schoen.

“Mike is an essential member of the Campus Safety team,” said Schoen. “His vast experience in the military, as a police officer, as a certified Clery Act Compliance Officer, and as an attorney make him the right person to be the College’s new Emergency Manager.”

Veteran who enjoys working in Dearborn

A Saginaw native, Ball is the eldest of two sons. He is a graduate of Eisenhower High School (now Heritage High School) in Saginaw Township. After his military service, he earned his associate degree in liberal arts from Delta College in University Center and transferred to the James Madison College at Michigan State University, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in international relations. He attended both Delta and MSU on the GI Bill. He later earned his JD from Wayne State University.

Ball is a proud veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, serving for six years. He was in the Fleet Anti-Terrorism Security Team, where he was stationed in Vallejo, CA for two years. Next, he served as a Marine Embassy Guard for the U.S. Department of State and was stationed in the American Embassies in Rome, Italy and Tel Aviv, Israel for three years during Operation: Desert Storm. In his final year, he served in the 3rd Light Armored Infantry Reconnaissance Battalion and was stationed in Twentynine Palms, CA. His earned the rank of sergeant before being honorably discharged.

For 22 years, Ball was a police officer for the DPD, serving from 1996-2018. During his time at the DPD, he attended law school. For five years, he worked as a labor relations attorney for Helveston & Helveston, PC in Detroit, where he represented fire departments, while working for DPD at night. He retired from the DPD in 2018 and joined HFC later that year.

“I was attracted to HFC because I enjoyed working in the Dearborn community and wanted to continue,” he said. “I lived in Dearborn for 25 years. Even though I’ve lived in Grosse Ile for the past four years, Dearborn is still home to me and always will be.”