2009 Distinguished Service Citation

Robert Allen entered Beloit as an Eagle Scout from Minnesota and proceeded to master the equation of the perfect college education: Put into it at least as much as you take out of it. He served on student government, worked as a resident assistant, and pursued interests in athletics and theatre as well as with the Round Table and at WBCR. He even coordinated one of Beloit’s signature Folk and Blues Festivals. Two experiences set him on his life’s course—majoring in sociology and interning at the Beloit Police Department. His plans to become a defense attorney vanished when he shadowed public servants on the front lines of law enforcement and talents as an educator emerged when he collaborated as a teaching assistant with Sociology Professor Doc Summers.

Officer’s training at the Southern Police Institute of Louisville, Kentucky, led Rob Allen to a post with the Minneapolis Police Department in 1989. In just ten years, he has worked his way up from rookie (including time as a bike cop) to deputy chief. On-site training in England and Israel equipped him for leadership roles, not just locally but internationally, as an expert on emergency response to terrorist acts and other disasters. In 2007 he put knowledge into action as coordinator of operations following the interstate bridge collapse in Minneapolis. Rob’s tradition of giving and teaching continues. He spends his vacations training cops in Jamaica, served as co-founder for an international organization of gay and lesbian professionals in law enforcement, and, in 2008, returned full circle by speaking about emergency response to members of the very organization who inspired his own career path—police officers for the city of Beloit.

Robert D. Allen is, therefore, recognized with distinction by the Alumni Association of Beloit College during the twenty-fifth reunion of his graduating class.