Glenn Cannon’s youngest son, Grant, and wife Catherine accepted the resolution from Michael Driscoll (left) and Sam Smith, chair of the IUP Council of Trustees.
At its meeting on March 17, 2022, the Indiana University of Pennsylvania Council of Trustees approved a Resolution of Appreciation for the late Glenn Cannon.
Cannon, a 1971 graduate of IUP and former member of the IUP Council of Trustees, died in 2020. He was active in IUP leadership groups, including serving as a member and president of the IUP Alumni Board of Directors and serving as a member of the IUP Council of Trustees from 2013 to 2020, holding the position of secretary of the Council at the time of his passing.
The resolution praised Cannon as a “natural protector of others,” and recognized Cannon’s 40-year career in public safety, which included service as founding director of Pittsburgh’s Emergency Medical Services Department, director of public safety for Pittsburgh, manager of Allegheny County, director of disaster operations for the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and director of the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency.
Cannon got his start in public safety as an IUP student in the 1960s when he used his training as a lifeguard to resuscitate a man and was then recruited by the local ambulance service. He began work at Citizen’s Ambulance Service in 1966 while still a student at IUP, served with the local fire department, and later worked as a firefighter with the Monroeville Fire Department.
The resolution also said that Cannon’s service to IUP was recognized by the IUP Distinguished Alumni Award in 1985, the Presidential Legacy Award for Civic Service in 2010, and an honorary doctorate, also in 2010, when he served as a speaker for the university’s commencement ceremony. Cannon also was a speaker for IUP’s 9-11 Remembrance event in 2015.
In its closing, the resolution recognized Cannon’s leadership in public safety and at IUP, “where his expertise and guidance were key in the establishment of the Indiana Area Collaborative Team, aimed at minimizing disturbances in the community.”
In addition to his bachelor's degree from IUP, Cannon completed a master's degree in public management from Carnegie Mellon University and a law degree from Duquesne University.
He was active on many public and private boards and was frequently called on to brief Congress on key emergency planning and response matters, and he was the author or coauthor of publications on topics ranging from critical issues in emergency planning and response to best practices in establishing public-private partnerships.
Cannon was a partner in the Pittsburgh law firm of Kennedy, Cannon, & DeVinney and served as a visiting professor at the University of Pittsburgh, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs in the Center for Disaster Management. He also served as a lecturer at FEMA’s National Emergency Management Institute in its Leadership Program.
The resolution recognized the trustees’ “deepest appreciation for Glenn Cannon, his commitment to IUP, and his lasting mark on the institution and its people and to his family for sharing him with the university and making these contributions possible.”