In celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Department of Political Science, College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences, at Virginia Tech, a public lecture by noted alumnus Tony McNulty, Minister for Police and Security in the British government, will be held on Friday, March 23, at 5 p.m. at The Inn at Virginia Tech and Skelton Conference Center. The lecture is free and open to the public.

“We are delighted to have the return of such a distinguished alumnus,” said Ilja Luciak, chair of the Department of Political Science. “It highlights to all of our students the interesting career paths that training in political science can open to them.”

McNulty is responsible for the police service, counter-terrorism, and crime reduction (including violent crime, guns, knives, community safety and anti-social behavior). He also has cross-departmental responsibility for parliamentary business.

Born in 1958, McNulty was educated at Salvatorian College, Harrow and Stanmore Sixth Form College, before going on to gain a bachelor's degree from the University of Liverpool and a master's degree from Virginia Tech.

McNulty’s first Ministerial post was Parliamentary Under-Secretary in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister from 2002 to 2003, with responsibility for neighborhood renewal, housing and planning. He had previously served as a Whip (1999-2002) following a period as Parliamentary Private Secretary. Before becoming an MP, he was Principal Lecturer in Organizational Behaviour at the University of North London.

McNulty joined the Department of Transport in June 2003 as Parliamentary Under-Secretary with responsibility for aviation, local transport and London. He was then promoted to Minister of State with responsibility for rail and London in September 2004. In May 2005 he became a Home Office Minister with responsibility for immigration, nationality and citizenship before being appointed to his current position in May 2006.

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