BUSINESS NAME O CTOBER 22, 2013 CJUS News Welcome to our first newsletter of the semester! Some exciting changes have occurred in the department! We have a new chair, new advisor, and new faculty, just to name a few. Browse through the newsletter for important information about the department and to meet the new faculty! INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Message from Chair 1 Chair s Letter 2 Accolades/Advising 3 Graduate Assistants 4 Faculty and Staff 5 Meet the Faculty 6-7 Transitions 8 Undergraduate Program Graduate Program and Lambuth 9 10 CJSA and CIT 11 Calendar of Events 12 Dr. K.B. Turner is the recently appointed Chair of the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at The University of Memphis. He has also held teaching posts in Alabama and Nebraska where he received the Recognition Award for Contributions to Students. He is a previous recipient of The University of Memphis College of Arts and Sciences award for Excellence in Teaching. Dr. Turner is honored to have been selected as a Maxine Smith Fellow for 2012 Dr. Turner graduated from Jackson State University with a BS degree in Criminal Justice. He received his MS degree in Criminal Justice with a concentration in Public Administration from The University of Nebraska at Omaha and earned his Ph.D. in Political Science from The University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He has written and published several articles and book chapters on police and criminal justice issues. He has taught most of the courses in the criminal justice curriculum. His research interests are varied, including a focus on judicial decision making, race, ethnicity and gender issues and police administration concerns. He is also a former consultant for the University of the Virgin Islands where he redesigned the Criminal Justice Program for the AA, BA, and BS degrees. Dr. Turner is also a commissioned police officer and trainer in a law enforcement career that commenced nearly 30 years ago in Omaha, Nebraska. After only three years of police experience, he was named lead officer of his 12 officer midnight shift crew. During his tenure with various agencies, Dr. Turner has been assigned to several units and has trained numerous officers in their responsibilities. He still serves his community by working with a local law enforcement agency. He is also an officer of the Mississippi State Guard, an organization tasked with supplementing the forces of the Mississippi Army National Guard and/or Air National Guard. Dr. Turner is a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS), American Society of Criminology (ASC), and the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE). Upon becoming the Chair of the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Dr. Turner credits the previous Chairs, Drs. Jerry Sprager, Richard Janikowski, and Randy Dupont, for their excellent leadership. He observes that previous chairs laid the foundation for him and the Department to be successful. Dr. Turner further comments, I am a beneficiary of the hard work and dedication of those before me. I am excited about the future of the Department and the diverse and talented faculty we have assembled. The possibilities that lie ahead are limitless. I look forward to continuing the tradition of excellent leadership this Department has enjoyed and making a difference in the lives of our students and community.
P AGE 2 CJUS NEWS Greetings, From the Chair s Desk I am excited to present our first Department newsletter in many years. I am hopeful you will find the content informative. Much has changed at the University and in the Department since the last newsletter. At the University, there is a new interim president, Mr. Brad Martin, as Dr. Shirley Raines retired this past summer. Also Dr. Ralph Faudree retired earlier as Provost. Dr. David Rudd is our new Provost. There was also a change in the Dean s office as longtime Dean, Dr. Henry Kurtz is currently assigned to the Provost s office as a special assistant. The current interim Dean of Arts and Sciences is Dr. Tom Nenon. Departmentally, Dr. Randy Dupont, after seven years of exceptional service, stepped down as Chair prior to the start of the current semester. I am now serving in that capacity. Perhaps no change in the Department is more drastic than the significant growth in our undergraduate enrollment, which has practically doubled in ten years. We will start offering undergraduate online courses beginning in the spring 2014. Another major change for the University and Department is the acquisition of Lambuth University in Jackson, TN. The University of Memphis-Lambuth Campus has a vibrant and growing criminology and criminal justice program. There are big plans for Lambuth, including the possibility of establishing an Institute for Public Safety. The future is bright for Lambuth and upcoming newsletters will keep you up to date on subsequent developments. The graduate program has also grown. Dr. Bert Burraston has been appointed to the graduate coordinator s position. The MA program is now in its second year of offering online courses. The first graduate student to complete the online program was Casey Tindell. Many of our graduate students live outside the Memphis, Tennessee area. Another notable change for the Department is related to the new faces here. Although few in number for the size of the enrollment, our faculty is extremely talented and diverse. Many of our faculty members have practical experience in the criminal justice field, which is quite beneficial to our students. The Department has also lost over 125 years of combined experience as Professors Jerry Sprager, David Giacopassi, Richard Janikowski, Margaret Vandiver and Phyllis Betts have retired. The Department s former longtime undergraduate advisor, Donna Huddleston has also retired, along with Linda Davis, the former office coordinator. The Department was fortunate to have these wonderful individuals for so many years. They have left an indelible impression on all they have touched through their instruction, research and service. Be sure to read more in the following pages for information about our current and retired faculty. To all of our current students, I strongly encourage you to consider becoming a member of the Criminal Justice Student Association (CJSA). The CJSA is an excellent way to become involved with the Department outside the classroom. For information visit the Department s website. To all of our former students, undergraduate and graduate, feel free to contact us at: cjus@memphis.edu to update us on your career. If you have not completed your degree, contact us ASAP to discuss how we can assist you in getting back on track. We are here to help and would like to hear from you. Again be sure to visit our website at: http://www.memphis.edu/cjustice to learn more about YOUR department. Warmest regards, Dr. K.B. Turner Chair-Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice
P AGE 3 CJUS NEWS Accolades Dr. Randy Dupont has received the College of Arts and SciencesTeaching Award. Dr. Dupont also received the Ten Years of Service Award that recognized him for his service here at the University of Memphis. Dr. K.B. Turner has received the Ten Years of Service Award that recognized him for his service here at the University of Memphis. Dr. Bert Burraston and Dr. K.B. Turner were recently awarded a grant to provide a risk assessment instrument formal validation study for Shelby County Juvenile Court. The CIT program was recently recognized by USA Today, who applauded the CIT s efforts in training law enforcement officers on how to respond to those with mental illnesses. Please see link for more information. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/10/02/police-navy-yard-mental-illness-alexis-shooting/2910763/ Why is advising important? It keeps you on track with your degree plan. It keeps you on track to graduate ON TIME. It keeps you from making costly mistakes (taking classes out of sequence or repeating classes unnecessarily). You cannot register for classes without seeing an advisor I will not issue any alternate pins until you have been advised. All About Advising Here s how to prepare for your advising appointment: 1. Complete the Pre Advising Survey ASAP. 2. Respond to the evite from the department to confirm your appointment. 3. Complete a Spring 2014 planner in UM Degree this is MANDATORY and must be completed BEFORE your advising appointment. 4. Familiarize yourself with the classes offered and your degree plan in UM Degree. 5. Come to your advising appointment prepared and ON TIME new department protocol is that if you are more than ten (10) minutes late, you will have to reschedule. Important Advising Dates: September 12th email sent out with link to the Pre Advising Survey September 23rd First Advising Appointments Available November 11th: Registration period opens for Honors Students, Seniors, and Veteran Students Message From our New Magnificent Advisor: Students: It is a pleasure to join the Criminology and Criminal Justice Department as the new Academic Advisor. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Mary Tucker. My B.S. is in Psychology from Tulane University in New Orleans. I received my J.D. from Louisiana State University and am licensed to practice law in Louisiana and Texas. I spent a few years practicing in Louisiana before moving to Fayetteville, Arkansas where I received my Master s in Higher Education Administration from the University of Arkansas. While at the University of Arkansas, I worked as a full time professional advisor in the College of Arts and Sciences. I also advised all Pre Law students. I sincerely enjoy working with students and look forward to working with each of you as you pursue your academic endeavors. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at mhtucker@memphis.edu I look forward to working with all of you!
P AGE 4 CJUS NEWS Meet the Super Graduate Assistants! From left to right: - Temi Awonuga graduated in 2009 from Augusta State University in Augusta Georgia. He received his BA degree in Psychology with a minor in Sociology from Augusta State University. He will be graduating from the University of Memphis in December 2013 with his MA degree in Criminal Justice. After graduation he plans on attending Law school. As well as the goal of being an attorney, he has other goals such as: Being a motivational speaker, teaching, doing research and becoming an author to name a few. - Ibienefaka Eke received her undergraduate degree in Law from Nigeria and a graduate degree in Interdisciplinary Studies at Western New Mexico University. After graduating, she would like to attain a PhD in Criminal Justice and teach at the college level. - Derek Russell received his B.A. in Criminology and Criminal Justice from the University of Memphis. He hopes to go into computer forensics or crime mapping after graduating. - Andrew Post received his undergraduate degree in Sociology with a concentration in Criminal Justice from the University of TN at Knoxville. After he graduates, he will commission as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army. After he leaves the military, he would like to pursue Federal law enforcement. - Marsha Harper received her Bachelors Degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice from the University of Memphis. When she graduates with her Masters degree in Criminal Justice, she plans on working as a substance abuse counselor. - Pegah Shahidi received her undergraduate degree in Psychology from the University of Memphis. Her career plan after graduating is to work for the FBI as a special agent/linguist. - Kristin Harris graduated from Tougaloo College in Tougaloo, MS and received her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology with an emphasis in Social Work. Her career plans are to teach or work for the state of Mississippi in the Criminal Justice field. - Jasmine Newsom graduated from Middle Tennessee State university where she majored in Political Science with a concentration in Pre-Law. Her career plan is work for the FBI as an analyst.
P AGE 5 CJUS NEWS Meet the Splendid Staff! Kim Tucker has been the office coordinator for the department for the past 6 and a half years. She received her BA in Psychology here at the University of Memphis and is currently working on her Masters in Counseling. She is an avid sports fan. Say Hello to our Marvelous 2013 CJUS Faculty!
P AGE 6 CJUS NEWS Meet the Rest of our Outstanding Faculty! Dr. Angela Crews earned a B.S. in Psychology from Tusculum College (TN), a M.A. in Criminal Justice & Criminology from East Tennessee State University, and a Ph. D. in Criminology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. She has been active in the American Society of Criminology, in the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences as past Chair of the Corrections Section and as the Secretary of the International Section. She currently is the Immediate Past President of the Southern Criminal Justice Association. Her research interests are varied and involve all aspects of the criminal justice system, but share a policy analysis or program evaluation focus. Most recently, she has been interested in policies related to school safety & violence, correctional policy analysis and program evaluation, policies related to the release of ex-prisoners into society, and in comparative policing and corrections. Her areas of teaching include research methods and statistics, corrections, comparative justice systems, criminal justice policy, and criminological theory. She has authored or co-authored numerous journal articles, book chapters, encyclopedia entries and grant proposals, and currently is developing a book on the international use of prison labor. She also is collaborating with a death row prisoner in South Carolina on several projects, including a "Convict Cookbook." Her most recent publications include a journal article critiquing the National Rifle Association's "National School Shield" program, an article examining RateMyProfessor.com ratings of criminal justice & criminology faculty, a book chapter on the use of the "supermax" prison in Great Britain, and a book chapter critically examining the wholesale use of incarceration as a solution to crime. She has two children, Brandon, who lives in Nashville and is about to be married to Jacqueline in November, and Konnor, a U.S. Marine currently stationed in Twentynine Palms, CA. She enjoys live music (all kinds), yoga, art, drawing & painting, traveling, and home renovations. After 7 years of outstanding leadership, Dr. Randy Dupont stepped down as chair of the Department. A clinical psychologist by profession, Dr. Dupont teaches the undergraduate research methods courses. Previously, he directed the UT Regional Medical Center Psychiatric Emergency Services for 14 years. Dr. Dupont is a nationally recognized expert in the fields of mental illness and crisis de-escalation and a lead consultant for the Memphis Police CIT program. He directed the Tennessee Health and Human Services SAMHSA Jail Diversion Project and the Department of Justice BJA CIT Project. He was recognized by the Tennessee Psychological Association as the Distinguished Psychologist in the Public Sector. Additionally, he was awarded the NAMI-Memphis Provider of the Year Award, and honored nationally as the City University of New York (CUNY) John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Law Enforcement News Person of the Year, for his work with law enforcement officers and individuals with mental illness. Dr. Dupont continues to teach and work with the internationally known Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) model with the CIT center. The Department is fortunate to have had his leadership. Captain C. T. Freeman retired from the Southaven Police Department in 2007 as a Detective Captain. He is a recognized instructor in the areas of Crime Scene Investigation, Hostage/Crisis Negotiations, Interview and Interrogation, and Statement Analysis. Captain Freeman is a certified Forensic Psychophysiologist and is licensed both in Tennessee and Mississippi. Captain Freeman is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and the Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center. He is currently an Instructor with the University of Memphis Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice where he specializes in Policing, Forensics, and Crime Scene Investigations. Captain Freeman served his country in the United States Army that included overseas tours of duty. He is also a member of the Mississippi State Guard (MSSG) where he serves as Company Commander of the 217 th Military Police Company. The MSSG is an organization tasked with supplementing the forces of the Mississippi Army National Guard and/or Air National Guard upon the order of the Governor of the State of Mississippi through the Adjutant General of the State of Mississippi.
P AGE 7 CJUS NEWS Dr. Amanda Johnson received her Ph.D. in Criminal Justice from Sam Houston State University. Her teaching interests include organizational theory, deviant subcultures, police issues, drug-related crime, and geographical criminology and profiling. Dr. Johnson has professional experience in both corrections and in police organizations. She was the Federal Methamphetamine Initiative Coordinator at the South Tucson Police Department and has received over 100 hours of training in methamphetamine issues and clandestine labs. Her current research agenda includes studies in organizational failure and deviant organizational cultures, police use of force, police TASER usage, and GIS. Dr. Johnson is a member of The Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS) and The American Society of Criminology (ASC). Dr. James McCutcheon is originally from Birmingham, Alabama. He received his Baccalaureate degrees in Psychology and Criminology from Auburn University. He stayed at Auburn to earn his Masters of Science in Sociology. He went on to receive his Ph.D. from the University of Central Florida. He has worked as a researcher at a juvenile detention center studying sex offenders and as a political consulting intern in Montgomery, Alabama. His other areas of research include lethal violence, drug markets, firearm availability, and crime mapping. Dr. Lenard Wells graduated from the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee with a BA in Psychology. He continued his graduate education at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee and earned a master s degree in Public Administration. Lenard earned both degrees while working full-time on the Milwaukee Police Department. Lenard obtained his PhD in Leadership, Learning, and Service from Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee. Lenard retired from the Milwaukee Police Department after 27 years of service as a Lieutenant of Police. After retiring from the Milwaukee Police Department, he was appointed by Governor Jim Doye of Wisconsin to Chair the Wisconsin Parole Board. After leaving the Parole Board, Lenard became the Center Director for an adult education facility for a local Milwaukee university. Dr. Wells has two articles with the copyeditors pending publications: What is the Effect of a Criminal History on Employment Opportunities in the Labor Market? Gatekeepers: The Milwaukee Field Experiment in the Employment Application Process Throughout his law enforcement career, Lenard has had a great passion for teaching. He has been an adjunct instructor at various institutions for over 15 years. When he is not pursuing teaching, he is spoiling his grandchildren. Lenard is married with one daughter, three sons, and seven grandchildren.
P AGE 8 CJUS N EWS Faculty Transitions Dr. Phyllis Betts was instrumental in many community outreach activities. Project Safeways is a first of its kind pilot project to decrease crime in Southeast Memphis apartment complexes. The project was supported in part by a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice and is designed to curb violent crime. The initiative is a coordinated effort involving the public and private sectors. Dr. Betts has also testified before Congress on issues related to the devastating impact of foreclosures and predatory lending practices in the housing industry. Dr. Betts retired in August 2013. She has since moved to North Carolina and is enjoying her retirement there. Dr. David Giacopassi retired in August 2011. He has been in the post-retirement program for two years. During that time, he has served as a referee for several journals, critiquing articles submitted for publication. He still on occasion counsels students and write letters of recommendation, but for the most part he is working on cleaning up his files and office (no small task) and has donated several hundred books to various charities. Away from the office, he enjoys traveling and training for road races with the Memphis Runners Club and spending quality time with his dog, Loki. (Prof) Loki Giacopassi Dr. Richard Janikowski served as the director of the University of Memphis center for community and criminology research. He is the key architect of the Memphis Police Department s Operation Blue CRUSH that began in 2005. This initiative (Crime Reduction Utilizing Statistical History) is an effort to identify hot spots of crime. Dr. Janikowski is a well sought out expert on crime reduction efforts. Dr. Janikowski retired in August 2013. He has since moved to North Carolina and is enjoying his retirement there. Dr. Margaret Vandiver retired in August 2013. An avid runner, she will remain at the University of Memphis in post- retirement to develop the undergraduate online program. Dr. Vandiver is an excellent mentor and role model for students. She has numerous publications examining issues related to capital punishment. She has also conducted research on jurors in capital cases and contemporary instances of genocide. Dr. Vandiver has also been recognized by the University for her outstanding work as a researcher and teacher. Another hobby of Dr. Vandiver is photography. She enjoys taking snap shots of old buildings and things and places of yesterday that are slowly disappearing from America s landscape.
P AGE 9 CJUS N EWS Undergraduate Program The Criminal Justice Undergraduate program consists of approximately 650 students, making our major the second largest on the University of Memphis campus. In the Spring of 2014, the Criminal Justice department will have an undergraduate online program. The classes that will be offered in this program are Introduction to Policing, Research Methods, and Terrorism. Discover Your Major Day! On October 3rd, the Criminal Justice Department participated in the Discover Your Major Day event. This event is put on every year by the University of Memphis to help students find a major by browsing through the information at each of the department s tables to see what major interests them. We want to give a special thanks to everyone who helped out and stopped by to make this year such a success! Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) The Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) is an innovative first-responder model of police-based crisis intervention with community, health care, and advocacy partnerships. The CIT Model was first developed in Memphis and has spread throughout the country. It is known as the Memphis Model. CIT provides law enforcement-based crisis intervention training for assisting those individuals with a mental illness, and improves the safety of patrol officers, consumers, family members, and citizens with the community. Major Cochran and Dr. Dupont are the coordinators for the CIT program in Memphis. Major Sam Cochran is nationally known for his work in developing the CIT model. He was the initial coordinator of the Memphis Police CIT which was created in Memphis in 1988. He holds a masters degree in Political Science/Criminal Justice from the University of Southern Mississippi. He retired from the Memphis Police Department after 33 years of service. He is currently an instructor here at the University of Memphis, Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice with services to the University CIT Center. He received the City University of New York John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Law Enforcement News Person of the Year and the National Alliance on Mental Illness has named an annual law enforcement advocacy award after Major Cochran.
P AGE 10 CJUS N EWS Graduate Program Our graduate program consists of 34 students. The 2013 new incoming class consists of a diverse cohort of 12 graduate students with different backgrounds including English, Criminal Justice, Law Enforcement Administration, Business Administration, Psychology, Law, History, and Finance. We are also excited to announce that we have a new graduate coordinator, Dr. Bert Burraston! Dr. Bert Burraston is a sociologist whose specialty is criminology, research methodology, advanced statistics, and family/child development. He worked at the Oregon Social Leaning Center (OSLC) as an analyst and methodologist for nine years before taking a faculty position at Brigham Young University, and then at The University of Memphis. He has twenty years of experience in both evaluation research and advanced statistical procedures such as structural equation modeling, longitudinal analyses, growth curve modeling (including in the present of unobserved heterogeneity), time series analysis, survival modeling (both non-parametric and parametric), multilevel modeling (including mixed-effects survival analysis and mixed-effects Poisson regression), Poisson regression, and missing data multiple imputations. He has been working in the area of offender reentry for the last eight years in Oregon, Utah, and most recently Shelby County Tennessee. He has used both cognitive and parenting interventions to successfully reduce recidivism. He is currently a core team member of the Reduce Adult Repeat Offences committee for Shelby County and the Principal Investigator on the Shelby County Prisoner Reentry Evaluation Program. He is also on the Federal Correctional Institution Community Relations Board for Memphis and Shelby County. Did you know about our Lambuth campus location? The Criminal Justice program on our Lambuth campus in Jackson has 24 Criminal Justice majors. Mr. George Megelsh is the senior lecturer on our Lambuth campus. Mr. George Megelsh is a Senior lecturer in Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice University of Memphis Lambuth Campus. He teaches a variety of courses in the curriculum and serves as the advisor for the program. Lecturer Megelsh has been quite active in recruiting students for the program. Our department started with four majors and finished at sixteen at the end of the fall 2012 semester. The current number of CJUS majors is twenty-four. Lecturer Megelsh deserves much of the credit for this growth. Prior to joining the faculty, Lecturer Megelsh retired from the Abington Township Police Department as a lieutenant after 26 years of service. His duties included supervising several units in the police department. He is also a graduate of the 197th session of the United States Department of Justice s F.B.I. National Academy and was an adjunct faculty member at Penn State University s Abington College in the field of Criminal Justice. He was recently selected to participate in Leadership Jackson class of 2013.
P AGE 11 CJUS N EWS Criminal Justice Student Association We had our first CJSA meeting for the Fall 2013 semester on October 10th and elected CJSA officers. Congratulations to the following: Brooke Bell: President Tiera Hurt: Vice President Elizabeth Clay: Secretary Keiona Bonner: Treasurer Two of our GAs, Andrew Post and Jasmine Newsom are our Sargent-at-Arms. If you couldn t make it to the meeting and still want to be a part of the Criminal Justice Student Association, you have until October 25th to pay your $10 dues. We take cash and credit card. You can stop by the CJUS Main Office in MC 311 to pay the dues. We will be selling t-shirts for $15, hoodies for $25, and koozies for $3. There will be a limited number of hoodies this first go around so for those of you who buy a hoodie, you will get a free koozie. All these items should be in around October 20th. Two events we have coming up this month: 1. Tiger Tailgate vs. Cincinnati on Wednesday, Oct. 30th at 5:00 p.m.. 2. Halloween Murder Mystery Dinner on Thursday, Oct. 31st at 2:30 p.m. Also, our next CJSA Meeting will be Wednesday, October 23rd at 2:00 in Mitchell Hall 325. Don t forget to connect to us on our social media websites: Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/university-of-memphis-criminal-justice-student Association/203049423060787 Follow us on Twitter: @UofMCJSA or https://twitter.com/uofmcjsa Hostage Negotiation Training Class Over fall break, Captain Freeman, an Instructor here at the University of Memphis, conducted a hostage negotiation training class at the Southaven Police Department. The class consisted of sworn in law enforcement officers and criminal justice students. Attendees were trained on the skills of negotiating using the West Coast Model. Captain Freeman is confident that the recent graduates gained a greater understanding of the issues surrounding hostage negotiations. See what the class was all about by clicking the link below from the News Channel 3 website. http://wreg.com/2013/10/16/hostage-negotiation-class-learns-from-memphis-incident/
Calendar of Events Fall 2013 All POT Registration Period Begins Commencement Apr 1, 2013 / Mon Check Commencement website. Full POT First Day of Classes Labor Day Fall Break Thanksgiving Holidays Last Day of Classes Study Day Exams Aug 24, 2013 / Sat Sep 2, 2013 / Mon Oct 12-15, 2013 / Sat-Tue Nov 28 Dec 1, 2013 / Thur-Sun Dec 4, 2013 / Wed Dec 5, 2013 / Thur Dec 6-12, 2013 / Fri-Thur Editor: Pegah Shahidi If you would like to donate to the to CJ Department s gift fund, please go to: https://www.memphis.edu/development/give.php The money in this gift account goes to student travel, faculty travel, food, and similar expenditures. We appreciate all your contributions to our Department!