A 30-year-old Westland man who has been employed by the Michigan Department of Corrections since 1980 has been selected 1985 Corrections Officer of the Year by the Department.

He is Gary O. Gillow, an employee of the Phoenix Correctional Facility, a medium-security prison for men near Northville.

Announcement of Gillow's selection was announced by Robert Brown, Jr., director of the Department who said Gillow's employment history "has been studded with commendations from his supervisors" for incidents in which he thwarted escapes and for nearly perfect attendance.

Lloyd W. May, superintendent of Phoenix, said Gillow, who is working on a bachelor's degree in psychology from Eastern Michigan University, "is highly respected by his supervisors, fellow employees and prisoners alike."

Gillow is married, has three children and is a Vietnam veteran.

Two other officers were runners up in the contest which involves a trip for the winner this year to the national conference in New York City of the American Corrections Association.

The runners up were: Robert Rollenhagen, a corrections officer at the Muskegon Correctional Facility, who has received a number of commendations for efforts in medical emergencies at the prison, and Jeffrey J. Olkowski, a corrections officer with the Mt. Clemens resident home program, who was cited for preventing serious injuries to prisoners in a fire and in and incident involving a fight between prisoners.

Rollenhagen, 58, has been an employee at Muskegon since 1977 after he retired from the Army as a command sergeant major. A resident of Holton, Rollenhagen has received many military honors. He is married and has two children.

Earlier this year, staff at the Muskegon Correctional Facility named him their officer of the year.

Olkowski, 29, a resident of Roseville, has worked for the Department since 1981 when he began with the Phoenix Correctional Facility. He has also worked with the Pontiac resident home program and has been with Mt. Clemens since October of 1984.

The three men will be honored in a special ceremony at the Corrections Academy in Lansing.