Office Hours

Other hours are available by appointment.

Additional Information

Dr. Greg Sumner is a tenured professor and coordinator of the Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice at Georgia Highlands College. Greg served as a Deputy Sheriff for the Polk County Sheriff’s Department, Patrolman First Class for the Rome Police Department, and Lieutenant/Senior Instructor for the Georgia Public Safety Training Center-Northwest Georgia Police Academy. In those agencies, he has served as a patrolman, field training officer, honor guard member, SWAT team member, countersniper, and instructor. He holds instructor certifications in instructor training, firearms, defensive tactics, pepper spray, chemical agents (FBI), environmental crimes (EPA), health and wellness, and ASP baton. He is the founder and past president of Professional Screening & Information (PSI), a company that conducts pre-employment screening services internationally with clients in aviation, healthcare, insurance, business, government, and energy, to name a few. Greg created products such as Background Wise, Reference Wise, and Med Wise to include the pre-service background check model used by all police academies in the State of Georgia. After 15 years of successful growth, the company was sold in 2014 to a private investment group, where he maintains a seat on the board of directors.

Greg is the founder of a non-profit organization, the Community Criminal Justice Foundation, Inc. (CCJF), that provides annual scholarships to those seeking a degree in criminal justice and an annual lunch for criminal justice personnel throughout Northwest Georgia. As an entrepreneur, Greg has created four companies that invest, manage, remodel, and develop properties in Cedartown, GA, Rome, GA, Panama City Beach, FL, St. Simons Island, GA, Tuscaloosa, AL, and on the Toccoa River in Blue Ridge, GA.

Greg is a veteran of Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm, serving in the Georgia Army National Guard (48th Brigade) and the United States Army (24th Infantry Division) as a tanker and physical training instructor. He is the recipient of Soldier of the Year and Non-Commissioned Officer of the Year awards.

Greg holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Human Services with a concentration in Criminal Justice from Walden University and has conducted additional graduate studies in developmental psychology. He conducted his doctoral residency through Walden University at Indiana University. He holds a Master of Science in Criminal Justice and a Bachelor of Science in Forensic Science from Jacksonville State University, where he was a member of the Alpha Phi Sigma-criminal justice national honor society, Lambda Alpha Epsilon-American Criminal Justice Association, and Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity.

Greg is the recipient of the Cobb County Teacher of the Year Award (2024); GHC Faculty Member of the Year Award (2024); GHC Excellence for Online Teaching Award (2021); USG eMajor/eHero Award (2020), Rome Downtown Development Authority-Williams S. Frick’s Service Award (2016); Community Criminal Justice Foundation Leadership Award (2015); Georgia Highlands College Shining Star Award (2013); Heart of the Community Award (2012); Jacksonville State University Criminal Justice Alumni of the Year Award (2012); graduate of Leadership Georgia (2009); Better Business Bureau Torch Award Recipient of Ethics in Business (2008); Greater Rome Chamber of Commerce Small Business of the Year (2008); graduate of Leadership Rome (2000); and Rotary International Paul Harris Fellow, to name a few.

Greg has served on many nonprofit boards of directors over the years. He currently serves on the boards of the Community Criminal Justice Foundation (founding member, 2000), Northwest Georgia Police Academy (chair), Jacksonville State University Foundation (member, chair 2021-2023), and Rome High School College and Career Academy program of Study in Law, Public Safety, and Corrections Advisory Board (member) and First Baptist Church of Rome (past deacon and chair, currently serving on the strategic planning committee).

Greg and his wife (Shani) have three boys in college; all three are attending the University of Alabama. Much of his free time is spent with his family watching football, hiking, kayaking, fly fishing, and traveling.