Cape Fear Community College’s Tim Fuss has received the 2026 Partnership Award from the North Carolina Department of Justice-Criminal Justice Standards Division "for his outstanding contributions to criminal justice education and training statewide," a news release stated.

Fuss serves as CFCC’s Senior Program Director of Public Safety, Law Enforcement, Criminal Justice and Public Administration Programs. He was honored during the 2026 Criminal Justice School Directors’ Conference in September in Greensboro, according to the release. The newly established award recognizes a school director or qualified assistant whose collaboration and dedication have significantly advanced the work of the NC Criminal Justice Standards Division, the release stated.

“I’m incredibly honored to receive this recognition,” Fuss stated in the release. “Training the next generation of law enforcement professionals is a responsibility I take seriously, and having the opportunity to help strengthen training standards across North Carolina makes that work even more meaningful.”

His contributions include drafting test questions for 38 basic law enforcement training (BLET) end-of-block exams, 14 lesson plans for instructor training and curriculum design pilot courses and the new specialized firearms instructor training state exam, according to the release.

He also served on a team that reviewed more than 1,800 BLET test questions, contributed to the school directors’ advisory group and assisted with documentation for the commission’s executive committee. Fuss accomplished this work while simultaneously administering two 868-hour BLET courses, detention officer training courses and an instructor training course at CFCC.

“Tim’s recognition reflects the expertise and leadership he brings to Cape Fear Community College,” stated Jim Morton, CFCC president, in the release. “His dedication to strengthening criminal justice training across North Carolina demonstrates the impact our faculty and staff have well beyond the classroom.”