By Naeisha Rose
Former FBI Special Agent Dr. Beth LaManna will be the first woman ever to serve as the head of security at a senior college in CUNY, according to a spokeswoman at Queens College.
Queens College Felix V. Matos Rodríguez made the announcement about LaManna Oct. 12 and her tenure at the school started Oct. 1, according to the spokeswoman.
“We are delighted and proud to welcome Dr. LaManna to Queens College,” Matos Rodríguez said. “Her combined background in law enforcement and educational, clinical and community psychology is uniquely suited to the role of security director in a senior college environment.”
As the security director at Queens College, she will be responsible for more than 19,000 students on the 80-acre campus, which is located at 65-30 Kissena Blvd. in Flushing.
Before her tenure at the FBI, LaManna — a Long Island resident — earned a Bachelor of Science Degree at Cornell University in 1984, and later earned a master’s degree in School and Community Psychology and a doctorate in Educational and Clinical Psychology at Wayne State University in Michigan in 1986 and 1993, respectively, according to the spokeswoman.
She was a school psychologist in Detroit from 1986 to 1996, according to Queens College. Her tenure in the FBI started in 1996 and she stayed with the bureau through 2018.
LaManna’s career in the FBI consisted of working in the Criminal Division of the New York Field Office, where she conducted investigations into organized crime, racketeering, complex financial fraud cases, money laundering, the 9/11 attacks and civil rights violations, according to the Queens College spokeswoman.
The former FBI agent was also a crisis negotiation coordinator for the state’s FBI crisis negotiation program for 11 years and she also served as a coordinator of the National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime, according to the spokeswoman.
At the National Center LaManna was a liaison between local and state law enforcement agencies that requested assistance from the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit in Quantico, Va., according to the spokeswoman.
In her role as a liaison between the different agencies she coordinated or orchestrated training focused school shooters, threat assessment mitigation and management, and violence in the workplace.
The former special agent is delighted about her new role.
“I am both excited and honored to be a part of the Queens College community. I look forward to the opportunity to interact and work with the faculty, staff, students and guests, and to ensure that Queens College remains a safe and secure environment for all,” said LaManna.
Reach reporter Naeisha Rose by e-mail at nrose
