Former Union County officer Anderson promoted to NEMCC Police Chief

Northeast Mississippi Community College has turned to one of its own to lead the college’s police department.

Former Tiger basketball standout Anthony Anderson assumed command of the Northeast Mississippi Community College Campus Police Department on July 1 after the retirement of longtime chief of police Randy Baxter.

“We are pleased to have Mr. Anderson as our new Police Chief here at Northeast Mississippi Community College,” said Northeast President Dr. Ricky Ford. “Mr. Anderson’s passion for our students and their success was a driving factor in choosing him as our next Police Chief.”

Anderson, who served as assistant chief under Baxter, is now charged with leading the campus’ police department that provides security and safety for all college facilities along with assistance to college employees, students, visitors and community members 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Anderson is now in his twenty-first year in law enforcement after graduating from the North Mississippi Law Enforcement Academy in 2000.

His previous stops include the Union County Sheriff’s Department for 12 years and a three-year stint as the chief of police for the city of Verona before joining the Northeast Mississippi Community College police department full time in 2014.

During his time with the Union County Sheriff’s Department, Anderson worked as a field deputy and an investigator, who focused on sex crimes and crimes against vulnerable adults and children. He was a member of the Union County Urban Search and Rescue squad as well as a member of the Union County SWAT team.

As the chief of police for Verona (February 2012-November 2014), Anderson was instrumental in hiring over 20 reserve officers for the growing police department and helping to reduce the crime rate in the city.

“He has been a dedicated law enforcement officer and mentor for many years,” Ford said. “We are blessed to have Anthony representing NEMCC and our Police Department.”

Anderson is a 1981 graduate of East Union Attendance Center and received his associate degree from Northeast Mississippi Junior College before attending Middle Tennessee State University.

On the hardwood for the Tigers, Anderson expressed his basketball prowess and led Northeast to over 40 wins in his two years in Booneville. During his first year at Northeast, the Tigers rallied to win the state championship against Hinds Community College in Utica 86-78.

In his sophomore season, Anderson helped Northeast land the inaugural National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region XXIII Tournament where he scored a game-best 45 points including a 20-for-22 showing from the charity stripe against Delgado (La.) Community College in the opening round of the regional tournament.

Anderson was named the Babe McCarthy Junior College Player of the Year, which is awarded to the top athlete at the two-year level in Mississippi, an NJCAA All-American and was voted by his teammates and coach Richard Mathis as Northeast’s Most Valuable Player following his sophomore season.

Anderson is the son of the late W.M. and Ilene Anderson and married to the former Connie Smith. Together, the duo has three children, Anna, Ebony and William, who is also in law enforcement and part of the City of New Albany Police Department and two grandchildren, Kydwn and Fallyn.

Anderson and his wife are previous members of Oak Grove Missionary Baptist Church and now current members of Ecru Second Baptist Church, and he is a member of the Masonic Lodge 171 in New Albany.

Northeast Mississippi Community College’s Campus Police Department was chartered on July 1, 2005, with the goal of the department to provide a safe and secure environment that is conducive to the educational experience for students, staff faculty and visitors while upholding the rules and regulations of the Northeast Mississippi Community College, the laws of the State of Mississippi and the United States of America. Northeast Mississippi Community College’s Campus Police Department has eight full-time officers and eight part-time officers on staff.

Information about Northeast Mississippi Community College

Northeast Mississippi Community College, located in Booneville, Mississippi, is continually moving forward.

In the spring of 2020, Northeast became just one of four community colleges in the world to reach the prestigious Apple Distinguished School designation. NEMCC was the recipient of the Ellucian Impact Award for 2020 that recognizes the college’s advancements in technology and is the only school in the nation to receive the award with the second award going to the University of Greenwich in London and Kent, United Kingdom.

Northeast has been named one of the top colleges and universities in Mississippi and was recognized by the Mississippi Business Journal as the Healthiest Workplace in Mississippi as it pertains to colleges and universities.

In addition to being one of the top colleges and universities in the nation, OnlineColleges.com recognized Northeast as the top school in the state of Mississippi for online education out of all colleges and universities, including four-year colleges and universities.

ZIPPIA has honored Northeast as the top community college in Mississippi in preparing students for the workforce and Northeast became the first college or university to offer a Z-degree (zero textbook cost) degree in the state of Mississippi as well.

Northeast athletics can also boast that it is home to a new ultramodern baseball and softball facility and currently holds the record for largest video boards for both sports in the community college ranks in the state.

The Chronicle of Higher Education has designated the college as one of its ‘Best Places to Work For,’ and CollegeChoice.net has named Northeast a Top 25 Community and Junior College in the country while The Center for Digital Education has recognized Northeast as a Top 10 Digital Community College in the nation.

Campus Labs recently named Northeast as one of two educational institutions in the nation as a Campus Labs Trailblazer Award honoree. The Campus Labs Trailblazer Award is based on the college creating a culture of assessment on campus through Campus Labs Planning to increase institutional adoption, focus on continuous improvement, and closing the loop in the institutional assessment priorities.

For more information about Northeast Mississippi Community College, visit http://www.nemcc.edu.