Spring is here and summer is just around the corner! It’s hard to believe that our year has gone by so quickly. The Department of Criminal Justice Sciences continues to enjoy many student, alumni, faculty and staff successes.

We had 24 students graduate in December with an additional 112 registered for Spring graduation. The department also sent several graduate students to regional and international conferences in order to present their research. You’ll also read about one student who was fortunate to accompany a professor to Amsterdam! The department hopes to be able to continue this type of support so that we can show-case the high quality of our student body.

The Social Justice Project had a landmark event. Their work on the Innocence Pro-ject a few years ago came to fruition. Dale Helmig was released from a Missouri Pris-on after a court deemed his original conviction unconstitutional. The Illinois State University community could not be more proud of their tenacious efforts. Congratu-lations!

Andrew Velasquez III ’93, M.S. ’94 was inducted into CAST Hall of Fame for his es-teemed career. Tammy Jones ’85, M.S. ’94 was named the department’s distin-guished alumna and Randy Wikoff ’85, M.A. ’07 was inducted into the CAST Academy of Achievement. Congratulations to our award winning alums! Your work in your communities makes us all very proud.

Congratulations also go out to our own Susan Woollen who won the prestigious Herb Sanders Award for Outstanding Academic Advising. Many of you will remember the superior advice and guidance she provided you during your years here at Illinois State.

Two of our faculty members traveled to international destinations to discuss and present their work. See page 6 for details. The international recognition is far over-due and I have no doubt that as the faculty continues to publish and present their work, more invitations are sure to come.

This summer the department will be hosting students and faculty from the Universi-ty of Madras, Chennai, India. Some of you may have fond memories of your study abroad experience with Sesha Kethineni when you visited and I hope we will make this trip a memorable one for our guests. Some of you may have the opportunity to meet the group when we visit your agencies.

As always, we very much appreciate your support to the department. With your gifts and continued support, we will remain committed to expanding the opportunities we offer to our undergraduate and graduate students.

Letter from the chair - Dr. Jackie Schneider

Spring 2011

The Rap Sheet

Inside this issue:

Alumni Spotlight 2

Student News 3

Scholarship News 4

Department News 5

Faculty/Staff News 6—7

Distinguished alumna

International experiences

Martin Luther King Jr.

Scholarship

New faculty member Dae-

Hoon (Tim) Kwak

Faculty awards

Special points of

interest:

The Alumni Newsletter of the Department of Criminal Justice Sciences at Illinois State University

On Saturday, November 13, 2010 Andrew Velasquez ’93, M.S. ’94, was the second Criminal Justice Sciences alum to be inducted into the CAST Hall of Fame. CAST Hall of Fame inductees are chosen for outstanding performance and leadership in their career fields, committed service to their communities, favorable statewide, national, or international recognition, outstanding service to Illinois State University, or proof that their work has benefitted a pronounced segment of society. On April 16, 2010, Andrew Velasquez III was appointed by President Obama to serve as the regional administrator for FEMA Region V. In this position, he coordinates preparedness, re-sponse, recovery, and mitigation activities for the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Velasquez brings to FEMA extensive experience in emergency management at both the state and local level. Before his appointment in April 2010, Velasquez served as director of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) and homeland security advisor to the governor. In these roles, Mr. Velasquez oversaw Illinois’ disaster preparedness and response, nuclear safety and homeland security programs, as well as more than 250 employees and a budget of more than $470 million. He directed the response and recovery efforts for numerous disasters and served as the state coordinating officer and governor's authorized rep-resentative for nine presidential disaster declarations. His disaster experience in-cludes response to severe storms, ice storms, the tragic campus shooting event at Northern Illinois University, and the record Midwest flooding in 2008. Mr. Velasquez served as chairman of the response committee for the Governor’s Campus Safety Task Force that was established in response to the shooting incident at Virginia Tech. He served on the Board of Directors for the Central United States Earthquake Con-sortium (CUSEC), a partnership of the federal government and the eight states most affected by earthquakes in the central United States. He was a member of the Region-al Advisory Council for FEMA Region V, the Homeland Security Consortium for the National Emergency Management Association (NEMA), and vice-chairman of the Emergency Management Accreditation Program (EMAP) Commission. As an adjunct faculty member at the University of Chicago, he taught in the university’s graduate program in Threat and Response Management. Prior to serving as IEMA director, Mr. Velasquez was Executive Director of Chicago’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC). Velasquez was responsible for executing the city’s public safety initiatives to serve its 2.9 million residents. This included oversight of the city’s homeland security, emergency management, 911 emergency dispatch opera-tions, and traffic management services. The OEMC comprises 1,800 employees and an annual budget in excess of $91 million. Previous to his appointment as OEMC ex-ecutive director, Velasquez served the Chicago Police Department in various capaci-ties for 10 years, including the director of the Criminal Identification and Record Ser-vices Division. He was also a member of the U.S. Army Reserve for six years. A native of Chicago, Velasquez holds a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Master of Science degree in criminal justice from Illinois State University. He received a Master of Business Administration in Management from Saint Xavier University. He also completed the Executive Leadership program at the Naval Post Graduate School—Center for Home-land Defense and Security.

Page 2 The Rap Sheet

Andrew Velasquez III ’93, M.S. ’94

Alumni News

Do you know an

alum who deserves

special recognition?

Nominate him or her

to the CAST

Academy of

Achievement or the

CAST Hall of Fame!

Andrew Velasquez III Inducted into the CAST Hall of

Fame!

Blake Bertany Stephanie Bickham Krystal Christon Amber Denniston Benvindo Dzubu Alyssa Groves Eric Halpin Christopher Hickman Kiley Hohulin Joshua Jacobs Brent Johnson Kathy Kavanagh

Christopher Kluz Casey Kociuba Daniel Kolosieke Aleisha Mack Kyle McCarville Misty Nicholson Brittany Schwien James Silva Ashleigh Smith Enjoli Turner Michael Verdun

December 2010 Graduates

Page 3 Spring 2011

Undergraduate Graduate

Randy Railey

Fall 2010 ROTC Commissioning

Each semester students in the

ROTC program are commis-

sioned as officers.

Michael Verdun ’10 was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant into the

U.S. Army National Guard on December 17, 2010.

Scholarship News

Page 4 Spring 2011

Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship

The American Criminal Justice System has worked diligently to remedy discrimina-tory practices against minorities. While much has been done in the recent past to remedy bad practices, there is much more that can be accomplished to ensure that justice in America is truly justice for all the people of this great nation. Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. dedicated his life to social justice—working for people whose voices were silenced and for those who were victimized by a system that protected the interests of the status quo. He fought against injustice and vio-lence. Working diligently for principles of equality, dignity, respect, he did so through peaceful change. He was a man of vision and compassion whose work touched generations still to come.

The Department of Criminal Justice Sciences established the Martin Luther King, Jr. scholarship to honor Reverend King's work and ideals. The scholarship will be awarded to applicants who demonstrate a commitment to the spirit of Reverend King's philosophies through community service, compassion, empathy, and work toward social justice. Please support the Martin Luther King, Jr. Scholarship by making a contribution to continue opportunities for deserving students.

Thanks to our donors, the CJS Department is able to offer scholarships and other opportunities to our students, such as attending conferences with faculty to pre-sent research. This year, the department saw an increase in overall Annual Giving, as well as the Gladly We Give campaign, which consists of faculty, staff, and retiree donations. In addition, the CJS Department placed second university-wide in the Spirit Tassel Challenge, which gives graduating Seniors an opportunity to donate to the next generation of Redbirds. CJS also has a new scholarship, the Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship for underrepresented students. If you are interested in donat-ing to any scholarship fund or the CJS Department in general, please click here, or visit CriminalJustice.IllinoisState.edu and click on the Giving to Illinois State link. Please be sure to specify in the notes section to which scholarship you would like to donate.

Thank you to our donors!

We couldn’t do it without

you!

Christine and Brett Ahring

Susan and Thomas Baccus

John Bell Melissa and

Michael Benjamin Robert and Toni

Bentel Charlene Ber-

inger Blake Bertany Thomas and Amy

Bower Margaret Bracey Deborah and

Orah Buckles David and Rita

Butler Brandi Carlson Ryan Carney Kimberly Carow David and Mary

Carter Lee Clementi Karmen and Jeff

Coates Terri and Steven

Cofoid Curtis and Nancy

Corbige Anne Dempsey Richard DuBois Carolyn and

Elliott Engberg Justin Fitzgerald Mark and Sa-

mantha Franklin Pamela and

Vernon Fuller Jerry Gilmore and

Paulette Fleming-Gilmore

Jan and Jeffry Gray

Thomas Gronski Susan and David

Gullstrand Mark Harcharik Todd and Patricia

Hoppenstedt Joy Hutchcraft Shawn Jackson Kathrine Johnson Alexander John-

ston John Kelly Victor Kelly

Danielle and Robert Keska

Keith Kimball Amelia King Kristie and Peter

Kowall Nicholas Kravat Cathy Kveton George and Mary

Long Rachel McFarland Scott McIlrath Marilyn Morrow Angela and Mi-

chael Murphy Corey and

Christopher Murphy

Michael Neal Peter Orlowicz James Pickett Donna Pikora Julie Price Cara Rabe-Hemp

and Jason Hemp David and Susan

Riley Steve and Deanne

Riportella Kyle Rokicki Amy Schmitt Jacqueline

Schneider Kathryn and Scott

Schroeder Kristy and Mark

Smith Lindsay Smith Mary Ann Sokol-

Jurcak Randy Spanton Glenn and Kem-

my Stickney Jeffrey Templer Walter and Sher-

ry Vesper Cathy Waltz Tracy and Mason

Wehrle Carol and Ralph

Weisheit L. Edward and

Anna Wells Jeffrey and Renee

White Bradley Widmer Thomas and

Donna Yehl

Congratulations to our spring 2011 scholarship

winners!

Peter V. Vitucci Memorial Scholarship: Jesse Guth Martin Luther King, Jr. Scholarship: Vance GodBold Community Service Award: Meagan Semmelroth Departmental Scholars: Tyler Wiggs and Kyle Wisher McLean County Sportsman’s Association Scholarship: Michael Verdun

CJS Themed Living—Wilkins 3

Department News

Page 5 The Rap Sheet

This year we embarked on a new adventure . . . a themed living floor. The Depart-ment of Criminal Justice Sciences partnered up with Military Science (ROTC) and began our first academic year together. Tracy Wehrle and Michael Gizzi are the faculty mentors for CJS and Lt. Colonel Keith and Lt. Colonel Hart are ROTC faculty mentors. Jonathon Hecker (ROTC) is our resident advisor (RA). During the fall se-mester we held a floor dinner, a presentation on search and seizure and your rights, and a career discussion. We ended the semester with a relaxation event hosted by Illinois State’s Wellness Program. Over the spring we hosted a presenta-tion on Floor Respect and the LGBT Stars Program, a “Game of Life” program, and other fun events. It is our hope to host even more events and continue to see a greater level of engagement by students next year. So, why a themed living floor you might ask? According to University Housing, stu-dents that engage in a themed living floor achieve a higher level of academic suc-cesses. The themed living floor creates an opportunity for students to live on a floor with others who share their interests, and participate in academic and social-ly enriched activities geared just for criminal justice majors. By being surrounded by like minded individuals, having others to study with, and building relationships which lead to holding each other accountable, student engagement increases. The faculty mentors are available to students who want to discuss careers, seeking help with their studies, and to be a positive presence.

Michael Gizzi

Tracy Wehrle

Themed living

floor advisors

Every year the Career Center holds job and internship fairs for students. The fairs provide the opportunity for students to meet with prospective employers for jobs after they graduate, or for internships while they are completing their degrees. If your organization would like to participate in the Internship Fair on Tuesday, Au-gust 30 from 4:30—7:30 p.m. or the Job Fair on Wednesday, October 5 from 4-8 p.m., please contact the Career Center at 309-438-2200 or Tracy Wehrle in the CJS Department at 309-438-3222.

Career/Internship Fairs

In December of 2010, Jessie Krienert and her graduate assistant, Shane Dixon, were invited to present their research on prison sexuality to the Ministry of Security and Justice in the Neth-erlands. Krienert and Dixon were able to speak at length about the research detailed in the book The Myth of Prison Rape to a large audience at the Ministry of Justice. The audience in-cluded several researchers and prison practitioners as well as the director of the national prison service. Later that week, they gave a presentation and training workshop to a group of field practitioners attending classes at Avans University. There, they had the opportunity to discuss the differences between the American and Dutch prison subcultures. In addition, they were able to speak with prisoners at the Scheveningen Penitentiary. The penitentiary houses multiple security levels, including the United Nations Detention Unit, where international war criminals are held for trial at the International Criminal Court. Topics ranged from program-ming and general housing conditions, to plans for rehabilitation and release. The prisoners were also interested in hearing about U.S. prisons, as their perceptions were based mainly on the media driven images of U.S. prisons which are not necessarily accurate. To end the visit, Krienert and Dixon were invited by the Ministry to attend a more informal discussion of their work in Amsterdam in order to develop a more collaborative research ap-proach in the future. They are hopeful that future collaborative work will include a cross-cultural comparison of prison subculture and sexuality modeled on the approach they used in their research.

Dawn Beichner, Associate Professor and Graduate Coordinator, is back at Illinois State after a Fall 2010 sabbatical leave. Beichner’s current research project centers on incarcerated moth-ers in the state of Illinois. She is examining the role that family reunification plays in formerly incarcerated women’s reentry to society. Part of Beichner’s sabbatical focused on expanding our department’s international linkages. In May 2010, Beichner lectured in a post-graduate course on Victimology, Victim Assistance, and Criminal Justice at The Inter University Centre in Dubrovnik, Croatia, where she present-ed, “Overcoming Past Victimization for Reentry to Society.” The course, which focuses on victimology in a global context, brings together students and lecturers from all around the world. We are pleased to announce that Beichner will be taking a group of Illinois State Uni-versity undergraduate and graduate students to Dubrovnik, Croatia in Summer 2011. In No-vember 2010, Beichner traveled to The University of Kiel, Germany and guest lectured on the topic of “Incarcerated Mothers in the USA and Their Reentry to Society.” She was hosted by the Department of Social Work and Health.

Faculty News

Page 6 The Rap Sheet

International Travel

Dawn Beichner

Jessie Krienert

Jessie Krienert Dawn Beichner

Faculty/Staff News

Chair: Jackie Schneider

Full-time Faculty: Dawn Beichner

Roxanne Castleman Michael Gizzi Jason Ingram

Sesha Kethineni Jessie Krienert Mark Leymon Frank Morn

Cara Rabe-Hemp Jeffrey Walsh

Ralph Weisheit Ed Wells

Part-Time Faculty: Judge Don Bernardi Judge David Butler

Kim Campbell Judge Scott Drazewski

Randy Macak Cheri Miller

Randy Wikoff

Assistant to the Chair/Advisement:

Susan Woollen

Internships: Tracy Wehrle

Support Staff: Jenny Doutt

Kathy Willerton

Page 7 Spring 2011

CJS Department Faculty and Staff

We would like to introduce Dae-Hoon (Tim) Kwak as the newest member of our faculty beginning fall 2011. Kwak is currently a visiting instructor of criminal jus-tice at Texas A&M International University. He is also a doctoral candidate in criminal justice at Michigan State University, where he is finishing his dissertation, titled “Putting Neighborhood Context into the Mix: A Multi-level Analysis of Job Satisfaction among South Korean Police Officers.” He holds a master’s degree in crimi-nology and criminal justice from the University of Ne-braska at Omaha (2004) as well as a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice specialized corrections from Kyong-gi University in South Korea (2001). His research and

teaching interests focus on comparative/international criminology, communities and crime, policing, sentencing process, and statis-tics/research methods. Recent publications appear in Journal of Criminal Jus-tice, International Journal of Offender Therapy & Comparative Criminology, Po-licing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, and Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice.

New Hire: Dae-Hoon (Tim) Kwak

Congratulations to CJS Assistant to the Chair Susan Woollen for being awarded the Herb Sanders Award for Outstanding Academic Advisement! The Herb Sanders Award for Outstanding Academic Advisement was established by friends of Herb Sanders, a member of the Illinois State University faculty from 1949 until his death in January 1980. Through his work as assistant chairperson of the School of Music and in the Academic Advisement Center, Sanders touched the lives of hundreds of students. The award recognizes advisors who demonstrate a car-ing attitude for undergraduate students, who are assertive in their contacts with students and who support campus wide academic advisement. Wool-len was presented with this prestigious University Award on Thursday, February 17.

Susan Woollen

Tim Kwak

Susan Woollen receives 2011 Herb Sanders Award

We want to hear from

you!

What are you doing now? The CJS

Department wants to know!

Please send an email to

CriminalJustice@IllinoisState.edu

with your updates!