Jared Bassham
POCAHONTAS, AR May 23 – BRTC is pleased to announce the selection of Jared Bassham as BRTC’s Law Enforcement Training Academy (LETA) Director. Bassham will assume leadership on July 1, 2022.
Bassham, a native of Hardy, has been employed at the BRTC Law Enforcement Training Academy for sixteen years. Prior to that, he worked at the Craighead County Sheriff’s Office as a criminal investigator. Bassham has a B.S.E. in Social Science and an M.A. in History, both from Arkansas State University.
Interviews and consideration for the LETA director included a wide variety of audiences and constituent feedback. BRTC faculty, staff, students, and members of the community were invited to attend a public presentation and Q&A from each of the three finalists on May 18. In addition, 50-minute-long interview sessions were held with three other groups: LETA faculty and staff; the BRTC President’s Cabinet composed of the president, vice presidents, and executive directors; and a separate hiring committee composed of BRTC employees as well as individuals from across Arkansas.
According to Dr. Brad Baine, Vice President of Academic Affairs, “The significant position of the Director of the Law Enforcement Training Academy calls for an individual that has the highest level of knowledge, experience, skill, and professionalism. I am confident that BRTC has selected the most qualified individual and perfect fit for this critical position. Director Bassham will be able to utilize his wealth of law enforcement knowledge and experience to lead an outstanding group of faculty and staff and his extensive familiarity with BRTC LETA and his passion and vision for law enforcement training will allow BRTC to provide superior training to law enforcement professionals, both locally and at the state level.”
BRTC also appreciates the participation and consideration of members of the hiring committee. BRTC’s LETA Director is charged with creating and maintaining strong, positive contacts across the region and the state in the wide range of law enforcement fields and with local government, legislators, state and federal agencies, and accreditation and certification commissions. Because of this, the committee was important in ensuring that the best individual was selected for the job. BRTC thanks the members of the hiring committee, especially Lester Hankins, Chief of Staff for the Arkansas Department of Public Safety, and Chad Henson, Arkansas’s 2nd Judicial Drug Task Force Commander.
Bassham has been married to his wife, Laura, for nineteen years. They have two sons, Ryder and Carter, and are active members of Walnut Street Baptist Church in Jonesboro. They reside in Brookland.
For more information about the programs offered at BRTC, visit https://blackrivertech.org/academics.