Michael L. Hummel, Ph.D. – Coal Center
Michael L. Hummel, Ph.D., 67, of Coal Center, passed away on Tuesday, March 19, 2024. A son of the late Joseph and Helen Meyer Hummel, he was born in Moundsville, W.Va., on Nov. 12, 1956. Michael was a tenured and full-ranked senior professor of criminal justice and security studies at Penn Western University in Pennsylvania (California campus). Mike was also a certified police officer in the state of Pennsylvania and served part-time as an active-duty patrol officer at the Charleroi Regional Police Department and Monessen Police Department. Dr. Hummel is also a retired military officer with 22 years of service in various leadership positions that include commander of a law enforcement company (HQ) and special reaction team commander at 101st Airborne Division at Ft. Campbell, infantry scout platoon leader and numerous special security/combat operations. He also served with the 2/75 Ranger Unit at Ft. Lewis, Wash., as a team leader and squad leader. He has combat service with the 2/75 Rangers and the 101st Airborne Division and has conducted real-world policing operations as a military police officer and as a municipal police officer in Pennsylvania. Mike worked at both the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy in law enforcement and security roles. He served as the director of performance, assurance, safety, law enforcement and security for the Department of Energy (WSRS). Mike also served as assistant professor of political science at the United States Military Academy, West Point. Dr. Hummel earned his Ph.D. from Columbia University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, N.Y., in 2000, Department of Social Sciences/Organization and Leadership, TC, and a master’s degree in philosophy. He also earned a Master of Public Administration degree from the School of Public and International Affairs at Columbia University in New York. Mike is the author of numerous publications on counter-criminal/terrorist and security operations and has developed or chaired 11 regional conferences on international and homeland security to include active shooter conferences on the protection of academic institutions and places of worship. Mike has been inducted as a distinguished member of the U.S. Army Ranger Training School at Ft. Benning, Ga. (currently Ft. Moore). Mike’s military service awards, tactical school qualifications and decorations include: Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Meritorious Service Medal, National Service Medal, Combat Parachute Jump, Bronze Star, Expeditionary Medal w/Bronze Arrowhead, Combat Infantry Badges (2), Southwest Asia Medal, Master Parachutist Jumpmaster Qualification Badge, Kuwait Liberation Medal, U.S. Army Ranger School Graduate, Pathfinder Qualification Badge, Valorous Unit Award, Air Assault Qualification Badge, Presidential Unit Citation, and Special Forces Free Fall Jumpmaster Qualification Badge. Dr. Hummel is survived by three children, Nathan, Joseph and Katie. Friends will be received from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday, March 23, 2024, at FERGUSON FUNERAL HOME AND CREMATORY INC., 700 Broad Ave., Belle Vernon, 724-929-5300, www.FergusonFuneralHomeandCrematory.com. Dr. Hummel, a retired military officer and purple heart recipient, will be laid to rest at the Arlington National Military Cemetery in Washington, D.C., where graveside services will be held. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Bridges to Home Animal Rescue in Eighty-Four, Pa., a humane society dog rescue organization.
