It is safe to say that many of you reading this newsletter took a class with Dr. Bill Head. Bill is retiring after 33 years in our department. He taught over 22,000 students during his career at IUB including our Introduction to Criminal Justice course 60 times, and his wildly popular Crime in the Movies 24 times. He won many teaching awards both selected by students and faculty peers. Please join us in wishing him well in his retirement!
On August 17th, 2024, the Indiana Innocence Project was launched. This project, funded with generous support from the Herbert Simon Family Foundation, began as a collaboration between Dr. Marla Sandys in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, and Clinical Professor of Law Emerita Fran Watson from Indiana University McKinney School of Law. Robert H. McKinney Professor of Law Valena Beety, from the Indiana University Maurer School of Law, has since joined the Board.
Innocence Projects work to free the innocent, prevent wrongful convictions, and create fair, compassionate, and equitable systems of justice for everyone. The Indiana Innocence Project is the first not-for-profit agency in the state to work towards those same goals. Our department’s partnership with the Indiana Innocence Project will provide IU students the opportunity to learn about the causes and consequences of wrongful convictions, help free innocent people from prisons in Indiana, and prevent wrongful conviction in the future.
Learn more about the Indiana Innocence Project through this video.
In September, the department hosted the 2024 Skip Elliott Careers in Criminal Justice Networking Night. At this event, undergraduate students join professionals from local, state, and federal organizations to learn more about current internships and jobs available after graduation. Students and invited guests enjoyed dinner with informal conversation before the evening moved into a version of “speed networking” where students had the opportunity to move around the room and talk with the professionals of interest.
Over 50 CJUS students met with agencies represented by the Monroe County Department of Child Services, IU Maurer School of Law, Indiana State Police, IU Criminal Justice Graduate Students, IU Police Department, Monroe County Probation, IU Peace Corps Office, Target Security Corporation, HOPE Mentoring, Bloomington Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New Hope For Families, Ireland Home Based Services, Indiana Department of Natural Resources, and the Middle Way House. The date for the fall event is September 23rd, 2025. If your organization is interested in participating in future Networking Nights, please contact us at crimjust@iu.edu.
April was a busy month for us in that we were fortunate to have three guest speakers come to campus.
Special Agent Amy Phelps of the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NCIB) joined us and spoke with our 4+1 Pathway/Accelerated Masters Program (AMP) and PhD students, as well as one of Dr. Block’s undergraduate classes. She discussed her work at NICB, and also her 23 years in law enforcement at the Louisville Metropolitan Police Department.
The Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice co-sponsored a visit of Officer Deepika Suri with the DHAR India Studies program. Officer Suri presented during a Brown Bag lunch with our graduate students and faculty, and then in the afternoon presented to a group of students from both sponsoring programs. She discussed her 25 years as a police officer in India, focusing primarily on her work understanding women as victims of crime.
As part of the Sutherland Speaker Series, Dr. SeungHoon “Simon” Han discussed his paper on “Effects of Victim Race on Police Arrests for Hate Crimes.” Dr. Han was a visiting international scholar, sponsored by Dr. Jon Brauer, this academic year. We hosted a reception at Upland Brewery afterwards for graduate students and faculty to further discuss the paper and other research.
The College of Arts