Former Cayce Police Chief Chris Cowan has served his community for decades.
After graduating from the University of South Carolina, he served in the Navy before taking a position with the Richland County Sheriff's Department. He then worked in Richland County as deputy chief for 29 years before becoming the City of Cayce's police chief.
Now, Cowan is stepping down to join the Joseph F. Rice School of Law and serve law enforcement in a new way.
Cowan, who has served as police chief since 2021, is taking a position as Director of Strategic Initiatives for the Excellence in Policing and Public Safety Program. The program, which began operating in 2023, serves two main functions: professional development for police and providing research assistance to law enforcement agencies across the state.
The Excellence in Policing and Public Safety Program developed through the law school as a way to work collaboratively with agencies to improve training and learning objectives for the police profession.
"We're providing a rigorous program that will allow participants to professionally develop their ability to provide services to their team and to the communities they serve," Cowan said.
The program does not offer the Juris Doctorate degree typically associated with law school. Instead, it expands on the law school curriculum and aims to equip police chiefs, sheriffs and supervisors with skills to help improve leadership and management abilities. This includes work in budgeting, crime prevention and ethical considerations in public safety.
Former City of Cayce Chief of Police Chris Cowan has joined the staff of the Joseph F. Rice School of Law at the University of South Carolina. Prior to being appointed chief of police by the City of Cayce in 2021, Cowan served as deputy chief with the Richland County Sheriff's Department.
Cowan said he is excited about the opportunity and that he will have many roles in the program, such as developing and teaching curriculum and cultivating strategic partnerships with stakeholders.
"This role allows me to strategically help the program collaborate, cooperate, network, develop partnerships and develop relationships," Cowan said. "The benefit for me is that I get to help public safety and support public safety."
The program has two experimental cohorts of police executives from across South Carolina. Each group completes an 18-month series of courses designed to bring executive-level principals, concepts and education to police.
It will also include a master's program, graduate certificate program, executive credentialing and ad hoc trainings. Documentation was recently submitted for approval of a Master's in Studies of Law degree, said Seth Stoughton, the director of the Excellence in Policing and Public Safety Program.
When choosing instructors for the program, it was important to have credible messengers, Stoughton said. Cowan was a "natural fit" to bring into the role, he said.
"We knew that we needed credible instructors, people who not just had a good sense of the academic basis ... but people up at the front of the room that our cohort members, our students, could look at and say, 'I believe in him because I know he's been in the same chair that I'm sitting in,'" Stoughton said.
Tim James, Cayce mayor pro tempore and city council member, knew Cowan through work in law enforcement and was involved in his recruitment process.
"The University of South Carolina's gain was certainly the city of Cayce's loss," James said. "We were happy for Chris because we recognize ... it's good for the state, because Chris is now in a position that he can share his skillset with so many."
His new role, though not focused on actively policing, allows Cowan to help impact law enforcement across the state, Cowan said.
"We're providing a very non-traditional, non-conventional approach to leadership training," Cowan said. "That's important, I think, as far as the director's strategic initiatives ... is trying to help be a bridge between the stakeholders and the program, ensuring that we're delivering the best product that we can for our customers.