For Immediate Release
February 2, 1999

Washington D.C.
FBI National Press Office

FBI Director Louis J. Freeh announced today the appointment of Jeffrey Higginbotham, a 22-year veteran of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as an Assistant Director of the Training Division at Quantico.

Freeh said, "Jeffrey Higginbotham has distinguished himself as an investigator, supervisor, and innovator, demonstrating the necessary qualities to lead one of the key posts in the FBI."

Mr. Higginbotham began his career with the FBI as a Special Agent in 1977. Following a period of training, he was assigned to the Minneapolis, FBI Field Office, and then to the Legal Counsel Division at FBI Headquarters (FBIHQ) in 1981, as a Supervisory Special Agent. Mr. Higginbotham was assigned to the Legal Instruction Unit, Legal Counsel Division, FBI Academy in 1984, where he served as a Supervisory Special Agent. In 1989 he was appointed Special Assistant to the Director at FBIHQ. He was transferred again to the Legal Instruction Unit, Legal Counsel Division, FBI Academy in 1990, and in 1994 Mr. Higginbotham was appointed to Deputy General Counsel, Office of the General Counsel, FBIHQ. He was designated the Deputy Assistant Director, FBI Academy at Quantico, Virginia in 1995.

Mr. Higginbotham has a wide variety of law enforcement instruction experience and has served as a legal instructor for the FBI Academy, providing legal instruction for the FBI, DEA, and state and local police. He has also provided instruction to the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the National Sheriffs Association, the National College of District Attorneys, the National Law Institute, the FBI Senior Executive Seminar, the National Law Enforcement Intelligence Units, the International Association of Women Police, and police executive groups from 26 states.

Freeh said, "Mr. Higginbotham's extensive contacts with law enforcement agencies and organizations and prior experience with the FBI Academy make him ideally suited for this assignment. His leadership, professionalism, and dedication to duty will go a long way as the FBI approaches the new millennium and new challenges."

Mr. Higginbotham is a member of the Utah State Bar Association, Utah State Federal Courts Bar and United States Supreme Court Bar. He was the recipient of the 1993 University of Virginia "Jefferson Award."

Mr. Higginbotham earned a Bachelor of Science degree in political Science from Utah State University and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Utah, College of Law.

The FBI has 14 Assistant Directors -- eleven who head divisions at FBI Headquarters and three who head Field Offices in New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C. The Assistant Director position is the third-highest in the FBI after the Director and the Deputy Director.