Profiles from the Pack: John Flannery

John “Flan” Flannery, Madison College’s Director of Public Safety and Risk Management, embodies a deep commitment to ensuring the safety and well-being of our community. When he’s not on duty or serving on national advisory committees, Flan likes to grab a pizza or visit his ancestral homestead in Ireland.

How did you get your nickname?
I was 6–7 years old, and my classmates started calling me Flan: the name has stuck ever since.

You’ve had a wide range of law enforcement roles, from a police chief in a small village to handling emergency and logistical planning at Wisconsin State Park. How did you land at Madison College?
I was a police officer and started teaching at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College. I then became the Associate Dean of Public Safety and head of the Police Academy. I started at Madison College in January 2019. I enjoy working in higher education, especially at technical colleges where enrollment is open to everyone. We are at the forefront of improving people’s lives. I firmly believe that, and it is what guides me here. Anyone can enroll to get an education to improve their circumstances, and the fact that each of us plays a part in that is just incredible. I went from working in a highly stressful job like law enforcement, which was often depressing, to being here in higher education, where you feel that you can make a difference in someone's life every day. It is what you make of it: building relationships builds trust with students and employees.

How have you and our team made a positive impact at Madison College?
When I first came here, the public safety culture was focused on enforcement, which siloed us from the rest of the college. I started a Public Safety Advisory Committee comprised of employees and students. Eventually, this became a committee of just students. It gives students a voice to guide us on initiatives and strategies we are considering implementing. Our culture now is about supporting students, which plays out in so many ways; we’ve given rides home to students, counseled students when needed, bought students lunch when they didn’t have enough money, and supported community engagement around student activities. We want students to look at us as partners, hopefully friends, and not as enforcing rules or behavior.

What’s your most memorable Madison College event, logistics-wise?
That would have to be President Biden’s April 8, 2024, visit. It required a lot of players, and we had to be very flexible with things changing at a moment’s notice. We were lucky to have the caliber of staff that we do, and everybody pitched in, so it went smoothly. The Secret Service complimented us as one of the better agencies they have worked with.

What are your super skills?
That would be my approachability and empathy. My mom used to say that I could talk to anybody. We lived in Milwaukee in the Irish community, and my mom, Catherine Flannery, was very active in the Civil Rights Movement. She, too, was very open and approachable with people she had just met and could start a conversation with anyone.  I learned that from her.  Also, growing up with 13 siblings, I learned to negotiate and work with different personalities. 

How do you stay true to your Irish roots?
I take my family to Ireland every year and stay at the Flannery homestead outside Newport, County Mayo, on the island’s west side. We’ve traced the homestead back to the family since the late 1700s. It looks over the mountains, and it’s absolutely gorgeous. We visit neighbors and get together for a ceilidh when we go there. The best way to describe a ceilidh is that you go to someone’s home or homestead, and there is a lot of eating and drinking, and then everyone has a different talent. My sisters would do Irish dancing, my father would sing, others would tell stories, and you visited with neighbors and friends until the wee hours of the morning.

So, what’s your ceilidh talent? 
Unfortunately, I can’t sing:)