David Carter earned the Ph.D. in Criminal Justice at Sam Houston State University in 1980.

He began his criminal justice career as a Kansas City, Mo. police officer. His first employment in higher education came at the University of Texas-Pan American in Edinburg where he was named chairman of the Department of Criminal Justice.
Carter was appointed to Michigan State University in 1985 where he is currently a professor in the School of Criminal Justice, director of the National Center for Community Policing, and director of the Criminal Justice Study Abroad Program.

He is the author or co-author of five books and numerous articles and monographs on policing issues and is a member of the editorial boards of several professional publications.

Carter has been a guest lecturer at various colleges and universities including Cambridge University in England. He has also served as a trainer, consultant and adviser to many law enforcement agencies throughout the world.

He has provided training and technical assistance on intelligence and computer crime to the Hong Kong Police, the Royal Thai Police, the National Security Council of Thailand, the Norwegian Police, and various police agencies in the United Kingdom.

Carter has also served as a visiting expert to the United Nations Asia and Far East Institute in Tokyo, the Asian Crime Prevention Foundation, and is a member of the Korean Cybercrime National Advisory Committee.

He regularly teaches at the FBI National Academy and has presented sessions to the FBI Law Enforcement Executive Development Seminar, the International Law Enforcement Academy in Budapest, Hungary, the Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Customs Service, and police command colleges in several states.

Since the terrorist attacks of 9/11, Carter has been involved in many training sessions and program development initiatives related to the use of law enforcement intelligence to combat terrorism. He developed the Homeland Security training curriculum for the U.S. Office of Community Oriented Policing Services which was recently noted by U. S. Attorney General John Ashcroft for its importance in integrating state and local law enforcement in the Homeland Security effort.

Carter and his wife, Karen, have three children---Hilary, Jeremy and Lauren.

As profiled at the October 25, 2002 Distinguished Alumni Banquet