Regina Lawson

Wake Forest Chief of Police Regina Lawson poses on Hearn Plaza on Tuesday, April 18, 2023.

Assistant VP & Chief of Police

Chief Regina Lawson has served as the Chief of Police at Wake Forest University since 1992 and began as the Assistant Chief in 1989. She has over 35 years of experience in law enforcement and a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. Chief Lawson also holds a North Carolina Department of Justice Advanced Law Enforcement Certification and Law Enforcement Instructor Certification and has completed the North Carolina Institute of Government Law Enforcement Executive Program.

Chief Lawson has been an active member of the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators (IACLEA) for 20 years, during which time she served on the Board of Directors, as a conference host and co-host, co-chair of the IACLEA Accreditation Commission and Membership Committee, and led the WFU Police Department to became the first agency to successfully complete IACLEA Accreditation in 2008. She was one of the first IACLEA-trained Loaned Executive Management Assistance Program (LEMAP) Assessors and represents IACLEA on the Board of Directors for the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education. Chief Lawson has also served two terms as a board member with the Northeast North Carolina Chapter of the Red Cross.

In addition, she has been a long-term member of the International Association of Chief of Police (IACP), served as President of the North Carolina Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators (NCACLEA), and assisted in passing several legislative actions to advance campus law enforcement.