Central Office

Harley G. Lappin
Director,
Federal Bureau of Prisons


Harley G. Lappin was sworn in as Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons on April 4, 2003. He is a career public administrator in the Federal Bureau of Prisons and the seventh Director of the Bureau since its establishment in 1930. He is responsible for the oversight and management of the Bureau’s 114 institutions and for the safety and security of the more than 193,500 inmates under the agency’s jurisdiction.

Director Lappin is a native of Akron, OH. He received a B.A. degree in Forensic Studies from Indiana University in Bloomington, IN in 1978 and a M.A. degree in Criminal Justice and Correctional Administration from Kent State University in Kent, OH in 1985.

Mr. Lappin began his career with the Bureau of Prisons in November 1985 as a Case Manager at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) in Texarkana, TX, a facility that housed 1,400 low security male offenders. He was subsequently promoted to Central Inmate Monitoring Administrator at the Western Regional Office in Belmont, CA. Then in 1989, Mr. Lappin was selected as Camp Administrator for the FCI in Jesup, GA, where he was responsible for managing a minimum security prison camp as a satellite operation to a medium security prison.

In 1991, Mr. Lappin was selected as Associate Warden for the Federal Medical Center in Carville, LA. His responsibilities included overseeing the institution’s operations during a period when Carville was transitioning from the Public Health Service to the Bureau. At the time, the facility provided inpatient medical care to approximately 400 male offenders of all security levels.

He was selected Branch Administrator of the Program Review Division at the Bureau’s Central Office in Washington, DC in 1993. In that capacity, Mr. Lappin was responsible for the Bureau’s strategic planning and annual reviews of institution performance measures. Additionally, he was responsible for coordinating the review of functions that preceded the Bureau’s reengineering efforts and developing performance measures for the executive staff modules.

Mr. Lappin was promoted to Warden at the FCI in Butner, NC in 1996. FCI Butner housed approximately 1,200 male offenders at the time representing several security levels. As Warden of that facility, he also managed a forensic center, inpatient and outpatient psychiatric units, sex offender treatment, and a satellite prison camp. He directed the development and implementation of the Habilitation Program to transition high security inmates to lower security facilities. In 1998, Mr. Lappin was selected as Warden at the United States Penitentiary (USP), Terre Haute, IN, where he was responsible for about 1,000 high security male inmates, a satellite prison camp, and national bus operations. At USP Terre Haute, Mr. Lappin activated the Bureau’s Special Confinement Unit, which houses Federal inmates under death sentences, and implemented the Federal execution protocol. Mr. Lappin carried out the daunting responsibility of presiding over the first two executions by the Federal system since 1963.

Mr. Lappin was promoted to Regional Director of the Mid-Atlantic Region in July 2001. As Regional Director, he was responsible for oversight of 16 institutions (including 2 correctional complexes) and 3 community corrections offices located in a seven-state area.

Mr. Lappin chaired the Bureau’s Management Reengineering Team (MRT). Under Mr. Lappin’s leadership, the MRT successfully reduced the number of management positions and supervisory layers while maintaining the quality of operations throughout the agency. The MRT also initiated pilot-testing of innovative organizational configurations at multiple Bureau institutions to assess impact on line staff and management work processes of these non-traditional organizational alignments.

Additionally, he chaired the Bureau’s "Forward Thinking" workgroup, initially composed of five senior managers. The workgroup represents the agency’s focused attempt to ensure it is well-positioned and prepared to meet future challenges.

In 1992, Mr. Lappin received the Associate Warden of the Year award for the Bureau's South Central Region. He received the Bureau's Excellence in Prison Management Award in 2000 for his oversight of the activation of the Special Confinement Unit at USP Terre Haute, combined with strategies he implemented to reduce per capita costs. In 2001, he received the Attorney General's Award for Excellence in Management for the manner in which he carried out the responsibilities associated with the 2001 Federal executions, a manner exemplifying the best qualities of Bureau leadership. Most recently (2004), he received the Presidential Rank Award of Meritorious Executive.

Mr. Lappin is a member of the American Correctional Association's Standards Committee, which establishes the standards for the accreditation of correctional institutions nationally. He is also a member of the North American Association of Wardens and Superintendents.