The South Carolina Senate on Tuesday voted to confirm Joel Anderson as director of the state’s Department of Corrections (SCDC).
Anderson had been serving as the department’s interim director since last spring after former director Bryan Stirling left the agency for the U.S. Attorney’s Office of South Carolina.
Governor Henry McMaster released the following statement on the confirmation:
"With more than 20 years at the South Carolina Department of Corrections, Joel Anderson understands this agency from the inside out and the responsibility that comes with this role. Since stepping in as interim director, he has provided steady leadership with a clear focus on public safety, and I am confident he is the right person to continue leading SCDC forward."
Anderson was appointed interim director of the SCDC in April, leading a department of more than 4,000 employees who care for more than 16,000 inmates.
Previously, Anderson was the department's deputy director of operations, where he led operations for security, maintenance, food service, agriculture, prison industries and support services for all of South Carolina’s 21 prisons.