Career Counselor Michelle Haynes

Michelle Haynes recently joined the College of Criminal Justice to provide career counseling for students in the criminal justice field.

“As a career counselor, I’m dedicated to helping students discover and achieve their career goals,” said Haynes. “I am passionate about helping students successfully make their transition from ‘backpack to briefcase’ as they enter the workforce in their chosen career path.”

Haynes can assist students with career development, counseling, and assessment and can teach students such skills as resume and cover letters, job search strategies and interview preparation. She is available at the College of Criminal Justice in A251 (Dean’s Suite) on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Fridays from 8 a.m. to noon. During the rest of the week, she is available at the SHSU Career Services Office in Room 210G in ABIV. She can be reached at (936) 294-2535 or at mhaynes@shsu.edu.

The 2014 Criminal Justice Career FairHaynes’ services will come in handy to help students prepare for the 2015 Criminal Justice Career Fair, which is scheduled for Wednesday, March 4 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Lowman Student Center Ballroom. The annual event attracts dozens of employers in law enforcement, corrections, victim services, private security and forensics offerings jobs or internships in the field.

Before joining SHSU in October, Haynes served in career services positions in the Lone Star College System for eight years. She was a program manager and career counselor at Lone Star College - Montgomery; an academic advisor at Lone Star College – Tomball; and a career counselor at Lone Star College – CyFair.

“Career Services is a great resource for students,” said Haynes. “I am excited about the opportunity to assist criminal justice students and alumni with their career-related decisions, job searching, and preparation into the workforce.”

Tue Mar 17, 2015
2:00pm - 3:00pm
Hazel B. Kerper Courtroom

Fred Rangel, member of the Texas Board of Pardons and Parole.

Fred Rangel, an alumnus and former Project Coordinator for the Correctional Management Institute of Texas (CMIT), was recently appointed by Gov. Rick Perry as a board member for the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles.

“Working for the Board of Pardons and Paroles was always my hope for my second career following my retirement from community corrections,” said Rangel, who received his bachelor and master’s degrees from Sam Houston State University. “Having worked on the front end of the system, I always wanted to work at the back end to help determine which offenders earned the privilege to go back to their communities and become productive members of society.”

As a board member for the Pardons and Paroles Office in Huntsville – one of seven offices in the state -- Rangel works with other board members and parole commissioners to determine which eligible offenders will be released from prison on parole and the conditions they will be required to follow, as well as which parolees will be revoked after violations or new offenses and sent back to prison or to alternative programs to aid in their rehabilitation. In addition, Rangel and his fellow board members are exclusively responsible for voting on cases of the most serious and violent offenders coming up for possible release as well as considering applications for clemency and making recommendations to the Governor.

“It’s an important process for balancing the rights of victims with the belief that some offenders have the capacity to change while also safeguarding public safety,” said Rangel. “The challenge is in evaluating and analyzing a lot of information from various sources and making an informed decision on which offenders can be safely released to the community”.

Nearly all of the seven regional offices, situated near cluster of state prisons across the state, are assigned a board member and two parole commissioners to review cases and act as voting panels. The Board is comprised of seven board members appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the senate. Additionally, the Governor designates one board member to act as Chair who is responsible for selecting and employing 14-parole commissioners to assist the board in fulfilling its duties. The Huntsville Office also serves at the headquarters of the agency, which is headed by Chairwoman Rissie Owens, a fellow Bearkat and board member.

The Huntsville Board office oversees offenders eligible for parole from the following Texas Department of Criminal Justice units: Byrd, Cleveland, Diboll, Duncan, Eastham, Ellis, Estelle, Ferguson, Gib Lewis, Goodman Transfer, Goree, Hamilton, Holliday Transfer, Huntsville, Kegans State Jail, Luther, Pack, Polunsky, Wynne and Federal.

Other Parole Board Offices in the state are located in Austin, Amarillo, Angleton, Gatesville, Palestine and San Antonio. Together, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles made more than 97,000 case decisions in Fiscal Year 2013 and granted release to more than 36 percent of offenders eligible for parole.

Rangel stands next to his weekly delivery of cases from TDCJ. The Huntsville Board office bears witness to the high volume of cases processed by the Parole Board. Boxes are stacked up around the office from hundreds of cases that are reviewed each week. Case summaries are prepared for each offender by institutional parole officers at each unit prior to release consideration by a voting panel.

Unlike portrayals on television, victims and offenders often do not attend parole hearings, unless there is a specific request from the victim to do so. Only offenders who have served sentences of more than 20 years are required to have face-to-face interviews with the lead voter, which are conducted at the facilities where the offenders are held.

Rangel recently returned to SHSU to celebrate the new National Organization of Hispanics in Criminal Justice student organization.Before being appointed as a board member, Rangel served as a Parole Commissioner at the Angleton Board Office. He spent most of his career in community corrections, starting as a juvenile probation officer in Montgomery County. Later, he oversaw a 64-bed substance abuse treatment program for adult probationers in the county.

Rangel also served as Director of Adult Probation in Angelina County, Lufkin before his retirement in 2006.
Following his retirement, Rangel served in a series of related jobs, including as a Project Coordinator at CMIT, where he helped develop the Senior Level Leadership Program which attracted participants from state adult and juvenile justice agencies as well as local community corrections practitioners. He also oversaw CMIT training programs for juvenile and adult probation officers.

Felicia Williamson, head of SHSU Special Collections, reads from a historic journal collecting signatures against the death penalty.

In the regal Thomason Room on the fourth floor of the Newton Gresham Library is one of the largest collections of criminal justice history in Texas.

In addition to rare and unique books, the Criminal Justice Special Collection offers manuscripts, legal papers, reports, records, newspaper articles, photos and personal accounts documenting the history of criminal justice in Texas and the U.S. It contains handwritten materials from the early days of a legislator and a Universalist minister fighting the death penalty; research into crime and punishment by leading criminologists in the field; legal cases that set precedents in criminal law; and annual reports from major police departments and organizations across the country.

A small portion of the criminal justice collection in the Thomason Room.Through generous donations and strategic purchases, the collection features the professional collections of prominent leaders in the field, including Sanford Bates (1906-1972) and James V. Bennett (1905-1971) of the Federal Bureau of Prisons; Austin MacCormick (1923-1978), a prison reformer and criminologist Jane Howe Gregory (1705-1999), a women’s prison researcher; and Charles Spear (1840-1851), a death penalty abolitionist and Universalist minister. It also includes documents from such famous cases as Ashcraft v. Tennessee (Grover McCormick, Sr. papers, 1886-1968), which laid the foundation for the establishment of the Miranda Warning, and Ruiz v. Estelle (1976-1982), a class action lawsuit by inmates over prison conditions.

The collections of Sanford Bates, first director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons.The collection represents a treasure trove for researchers and historians. It began with a donation from the Institute of Contemporary Corrections and the Behavioral Sciences, the predecessor for the College of Criminal Justice.

“All of these subjects are of interest to researchers in the criminal justice field, but people think these are issues of today only,” said Felicia Williamson, head of SHSU Special Collection. “But many of these issues go way back, and people were struggling with them 300 years ago.”

The collections date back to the 1700s. Among the issues highlighted in the collection are prison reform, the death penalty and women in prison, topics still prominent in the world today.

For Trent Shotwell, a special collections library associate and former employee of both the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and the Texas Prison Museum, the most interesting part of the collection is a state-by-state survey of prisons conducted by MacCormick in the 1940s. At the time, Texas ranked among the three worst prison systems in the country. After publishing the results, the system undertook far-reaching reform.

Pamphlets from Americans' early opponents of the death penalty.For Dr. James Williamson, a digital resources librarian, his favorite discovery in the collection was a pair of pamphlets from the mid-1800s by opponents of the death penalty. The two yellowed brochures, “The Groans of the Gallows” and “A Hangman’s Letter to the Queen,” captured the debate in a ghoulish and nonsensical manner.

“It’s a little crazy and doesn’t make sense,” said Dr. James Williamson. “It was trying to show you how to make a gallows that was more humanitarian, but it never gave any specifics of how to do it.”

Felicia Williamson too found unique treasures among the collection. A leatherbound diary from the Charles Spear collection turned out to be a petition drive supporting prison reform, with signatures from such historical figures as Abolitionist Harriet Beecher Stowe; John Jay, President of the Continental Congress and Poet Henry Longfellow.

“It even had replica signatures from (President) Abraham Lincoln and (Secretary of War) Edwin Stanton, indicating their support of the movement,” she said.

The collection includes extensive writings on women in prison.Felicia Williamson continues to search for new collections and manuscripts to add to the collection, and most recently purchased books on women in prison, a growing trend in the field.

The Criminal Justice collection is extensive and has been used by researchers worldwide. Joseph Spillane, as an associate professor of history at the University of Florida, used the collection for his book Coxsackie: The Rise and Fall of Prison Reform. https://jhupbooks.press.jhu.edu/content/coxsackie.

“The work features Austin MacCormick rather prominently, and the Austin H. MacCormick Papers were absolutely indispensable to reconstructing his life and work,” Spillane write. “A wonderful collection, beautifully organized. I’m grateful to the staff who were so generous with their time and help during the time I spent at SHSU. It was a wonderful experience, and I’ve recommended the collections to a number of researchers in the time since then.”

A book autographed by Austin MacCormickSeveral classes – from high school to graduate school – also used the collection as part of their course.

To view the SHSU Special Collections which also includes extensive history of the area, visit https://archon.shsu.edu/?p=collections/collections&browse. Many of these collections are featured on a blog for the Special Collection and SHSU Archives http://nglarchivesandspecialcollections.wordpress.com/

Intern Marcus Ussery worked in a private investigator's office.

Marcus Ussery, a McNair Scholar at Sam Houston State University (SHSU), stepped into the intriguing world of a private investigator, walking right into a capital murder case 0n his first day on the job.

As an intern with Peel & Associates Research Group in Bryan, Ussery was charged with reviewing documents, transcripts and evidence in the case to make sure everything was accounted for and every lead was followed for the defense team at trial. Because of his training in forensic science, he was also able to identify what looked like a bullet graze on the arm of a co-defendant, a piece of evidence that had not been followed up by police.

“The defendant got life without parole,” said Ussery. “He didn’t deserve life, but we left it in the jury’s hands.”

The private investigation firm works on criminal, civil and family law cases and is operated by a fellow Bearkat, Tom Jagielski (’87), who began his career as an investigator with the Brazos County County Attorney’s Office after serving as an intern there. After rising to the rank of assistant chief investigator, Jagielski decided to switch to a law enforcement career, joining the College Station Police Department.

During his 21 year career with the Department, Jagielski worked patrol, narcotics, crime scene investigations, bicycle patrol, community policing , and the crisis intervention team for those with mental health issues. After retirement, he worked a few jobs before opening Peel & Associates.

Jagielski took Ussery under his wing to show him the inner workings of the job, not only allowing him to assist in current investigations, but also reviewing old cases to demonstrate how the job is done.

“I think it gave him some real life experience and insight,” said Jagielski. “At college, they give you the ins and outs of being a police officer, but they don’t give you the other side of the street. We do defense work. Maybe, sometimes police are not correct in their assumptions. We cannot change the facts; we just want to bring them to light so the jury system can work.”

Ussery hopes to get his license as a private investigator after his graduation in December. He said SHSU helped prepare him well for the job, especially through research training in courses and crime scene investigation tools from Forensic Science.

“Be committed to what you want to do and go for it,” said Ussery, giving advice to other SHSU students. “Get used to doing research and taking great notes. If you are working as a private investigator, you will be doing a lot of reading.”

Jagielski said that it is careful reading of reports that wins or loses cases.

“Interns have to have common sense and put things together,” said Jagielski. “In case reports or interviews, they have to look for the subtle nuances.”

At Peel & Associates, Ussery assists with reviews of criminal cases, going over evidence, audio files and statements with a fine tooth comb. He also accompanied Jagielski as he delivered subpoenas.

Ussery said SHSU showed him all the theories about criminal justice, while the internship taught him how to apply it. “Now I know where they got all that textbook information,” Ussery said.

Thu, Jan 22, 2015
3:30 - 4:30 P.M.
Bates Room, Criminal Justice Center

Working with a faculty member is something that all graduate students will experience at some point during their time at SHSU. However, we quickly learn that not all faculty members have the same working style as other faculty or as the students assigned to them. Dr. Wells will be discussing how to work with a diverse set of faculty and how to adapt to their methods, even if they are vastly different from your own. Dr. Wells has worked with a variety of graduate students during his time at SHSU with tasks ranging from independent research, to acting as teaching assistants, to engaging in data collection during grant and research projects. His insight will be helpful to even the most veteran of graduate students.

Presented by the College of Criminal Justice and the Criminal Justice Graduate Student Organization.

Wed, Jan 21, 2015
6:30pm - 7:45pm
Lowman Student Center, Room 315

Tue, Jan 20 -- Tue, Jan 27, 2015
Criminal Justice Center, CJava Cafe

The American Criminal Justice Association, a national organization of criminal justice students, academics, and professionals with membership in over three quarters of the states in the nation, will hold meetings this week for those interested in joining the organization.

The dates and times of the meetings are:

• Jan 20, 3:00pm and 6:00pm
• Wed, Jan 21, 3:00pm and 7:00pm
• Thu, Jan 22, 4:00pm
• Fri, Jan 23, 3:00pm and 7:00pm
• Mon, Jan 26, 3:00pm and 7:00pm
• Tue, Jan 27, 3:00pm

Wed, Jan 21, 2015
6:30pm - 7:45pm
Lowman Student Center, Room 315

Wed, Feb. 11, 2015
6:30pm - 7:45pm
Lowman Student Center, Room 315

Wed, Feb 18, 2015
6:30pm - 7:45pm
Lowman Student Center, Room 315

Wed, Jan 21, 2015
5:30 p.m.
Criminal Justice Center, CJava Cafe

Come join Alpha Phi Sigma, the CJ National Honor Society, at its biweekly meetings!

Mon, Jan 26, 2015
5 p.m.
Lowman Student Center Room 307

Welcome back for the spring semester! We are excited to see that you have taken an interest in our organization! The purpose of Phi Alpha Delta Pre-Law Fraternity is to help you decide whether or not law school is the direction you want pursue after you graduate.

To kick off this semester we would love to have you join us at our first couple of meetings that will take place within the next few weeks. We will provide you with everything you need to know about us at this meeting and help you decide if this organization is right for you. Mark your calendars and we hope to see you there!

Tue, Jan 27, 2015
5:30 PM
Chemistry and Forensic Science Building
Room 103

Welcome back to a new semester and new events! Be prepared for a group activity and more!
As usual, pizza and drinks will be provided. But again, we do ask that you please pay your dues this semester, as the funds collected from dues pays for pizza and drinks for each meeting.

In the wake of the financial crisis of 2008, many police agencies across the country began looking at effective ways to cut costs and maintain services in their departments.

In response to dwindling budgets, the Program on Police Consolidation and Shared Services was launched at Michigan State University to provide independent information and objective research for police agencies to decide these tough issues. Dr. William King, Associate Dean for Research and Program Development at Sam Houston State University's College of Criminal Justice, investigated the use of civilian employees in police in collaboration with Jeremy M. Wilson.

Dr. William King “The Program on Police Consolidation and Shared Services at Michigan State University is an innovative resource for police executives and local administrators,” said Dr. King. “Our report highlights a number of innovative ways for the use of civilian employees by local police agencies. We also highlight the benefits of civilians, and the potential conflicts and issues raised by their use.”

As of 2008, one-third of full-time staff at police agencies in the U.S. were civilians. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, local police agencies employed 368,669 full time and 56,278 part-time civilian workers in 2008. Among the duties they handled were clerical; dispatch; first responder to non-violent calls; crime scene and forensic personnel; crime victim services; analyst, researchers and planners; community liaison and public information officers; and command staff and strategic leaders.

Here are some of the ways that law enforcement agencies are using civilian personnel:

• Administrative and operational tasks, such as dispatch, clerical, accounting, custodial, technical services, and programming
• Uniformed first responders for animal control, traffic control, parking regulation, cold case reports, or office-based work on crime reports or leads
• Crime scene processing and forensic crime labs that require advanced training and academic degrees
• Crime victim services, including victim advocates and victim service providers employed by departments
• Analysts, researchers and planners for specialized work in statistical analysis, mapping, computer programs, budgeting, or crime analysis
• Community liaisons and public information officers to serve local ethnic communities or to act as a liaison between police and the press
• Command staff or strategic leaders who mainly lead administrative services for the department or have expertise in specialized area, such as homeland security

Civilians offer a number of benefits to police agencies, including lowering costs; freeing up officers for patrol or investigating cases; providing specialized skills or training; improving community relations; and allowing greater flexibility in personnel assignments. But hiring civilians also may raise concerns among police unions for taking away desk positions often reserved for sick or injured officers or among the rank and file over fears of compromising sensitive information, interfering with officer discretion, and disrupting operations.

For police agencies considering the addition of civil employees, Dr. King recommends talking to other agencies who have implemented the practice or to follow six guidelines for administering successful plans. Among these are assessing the types of positions being considered, determining the true costs and benefits for the agency, building support among key constituents in the department, developing a training plan for civilian employees, establishing performance assessments for civilian workers, and setting procedures for demoting, firing or handle grievance by or against civilian employees.

The report by Dr. King and Wilson, Police Consolidation: Integrating Civilian Staff into Police Agencies” is available on the PCASS web site. The study was funded by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Police Services.

Fri, Feb 6, 2015
9:30 - 11:00 A.M.
Hazel B. Kerper Courtroom

Dr. James ForestDr. James Forest, an expert on terrorism and national security, will be the first Beto Chair Lecture of the Spring.

Dr. Forest, a Professor and Director of the Security Studies Program at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, serves as Director of the Center of Terrorism and Security Studies and is a Senior Fellow with the Joint Operations University, where he conducts research on emerging terrorist threats, insurgencies, transnational criminal networks, and U.S. Special Forces training.

Dr. Forest in Nigeria.Before joining the University, Dr. Forest was the Director of Terrorism Studies at the United States Military Academy, where he taught courses on international relations, terrorism, counterterrorism, information warfare, comparative politics and sub-Saharan Africa. He also directed research initiatives and education programs for the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point, covering topics in terrorist recruitment, training, and organizational knowledge transfer. He received several Army civilian service awards during his tenure.

Dr. Forest in Uganda.Dr. Forest also was selected by the Center for American Progress and Foreign Policy as one of “America’s most esteemed terrorism and national security experts” and participated in its annual Terrorism Index studies from 2006 to 2011. He also testified before Congressional hearings, served as an expert witness for terrorism-related court cases and was interviewed by many television, newspaper and radio journalists in the U.S. and other countries.

Dr. Forest is the author of 19 books and dozens of articles in such journals as Terrorism and Political Violence, Crime and Delinquency, Perspectives on Terrorism, the Cambridge Review of International Affairs, the Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, Contemporary Security Policy, the Journal of Political Science Education, and Democracy and Security. He also serves on the editorial boards of several journals, including Terrorism and Political Violence, the Journal of Strategic Security, and the Journal of Transportation Security.

Forest heads the Security Studies Program and the Center of Terrorism and Security Studies at UMassHis most recent books include Homeland Security and Terrorism, a collection of essays co-edited Russell Howard and Joanne Moore, and Intersections of Crime and Terrorism.

Dr. Forest received his graduate degrees from Stanford University and Boston College and undergraduate degrees from Georgetown University and De Anza College.

Resume Clinic
One-on-one critique of your resume
Tue & Thu, Feb. 24 & 26, 9am – 4pm
Friday, Feb. 27, 9am – 12:00pm
CJ Lobby

Tips for Career Fair
Things you need to know to prepare for the Career Fair
Mon, Mar. 2
2:30 - 3:30pm
CJ Courtroom

The Application Process
The complex process needed to get a job
Tue, Mar. 3
2:30 - 3:30pm
CJ Courtroom

Criminal Justice Career Fair
Meet prospective employers
Wed, Mar. 4
10:00am - 2:00pm
Lowman Student Center Ballroom

Internships
How to get experience in the field
Thu, Mar. 5,
10:00am
CJ Courtroom

Each spring, the Criminal Justice Career Fair attracts dozens of agencies and organizations looking to hire employees and interns in the criminal justice field. Students have the opportunity to meet with representatives from all aspects of the field, including law enforcement, corrections, victim services, forensics and private security.

To help students put their best foot forward, the College will offer two weeks of events to prepare you to meet future employers. Check out the list of events!

Wed, Jan 28, 2015
6:30pm - 7:45pm
Lowman Student Center, Room 315

Tue, Feb 24, 2015
2:00pm - 3:00pm
Hazel B. Kerper Courtroom

Ben Smith is a Victim Advocate for Mothers Against Drunk Driving
in the East Texas Region.

Security studies students distribute gifts to clients at New Danville.

Students from Sam Houston State University, College of Criminal Justice, Department of Security Studies, presented New Danville, a community for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, with the gift of security in December 2014.

As part of an Academic Community Engagement (ACE) course, first year students from the new Master in Homeland Security Studies Program presented the New Danville management, staff and community leaders with a proposal to address safety and security on campus, from assessing physical safety plans to addressing elements of preparedness for, response to, mitigation against, and recovery from natural and other disasters. The presentation encouraged leaders to begin the process of discussing logistics, operations, communications, administration, and planning for any emergency that may come their way.

First year security studies students prepare to present their plan to staff at New Danville.“You can’t prevent all hazards and threats, but the most important thing is to have a plan in case anything happens,” said Kameron Weaver, an SHSU student.

Located on 42 acres in Willis, New Danville is designed as a self-sustained master planned community where individuals with intellectual and development disabilities can live, learn, work and grow emotionally, socially and spiritually. The program offers residential housing; job skills training in woodshop, sewing, assembly, and gardening; life-enriching activities, such as miniature horse therapy, beekeeping, cooking, art classes, golf-cart driving, YMCA and bowling; and social and life skills training, said Benzon John in providing an overview of the program.

New DanvilleStudent Kyle West said the facility has many positive factors that enable an implementation of an outstanding safety and security plan, including an amazing, highly dedicated staff and volunteer corps; a diligent selection process for new members who join the community; and strong support from the community and the government.

Because of the special needs population it serves, it is important for the community to have plans in place before any emergencies strike. In addition, collaboration and coordination with local emergency and safety agencies are key to providing officials with an understanding of the special needs of the community while at the same time exposing New Danville to emergency management and safety and security officials who would be involved in responding to potential emergencies and crises. To facilitate the planning process, the class invited Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office Deputy for crime prevention for District 1, Richard Stein, Willis Police Chief James Nowak, and Cynthia Jamieson, Montgomery County Office of Emergency Management Planning and Community Outreach Liaison. During the presentation, invitees were encouraged to ask questions and share comments on each student’s area of concern and discussion topic.

Crime Prevention Specialist Richard Stein of the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office talks to staff from New Danville.In emergency planning, local, county and state officials generally identify “special needs” populations that may need additional assistance in times of disasters. These populations generally include elderly and disabled person. Local officials need to know and understand the needs of these communities to prepare properly for their response, graduate student Joshua Marreel said.

Garrett Wickens addressed general security and safety issues on New Danville’s campus, including physical, human, and operational security aspects. Physical security may include walls, gates, doors, locks, or security guards. Human security involves situational awareness, resilience, protection of vulnerable individuals from threats and hazards, considerations for dignity and mitigation of fear. Human safety is paramount, and the ultimate goal is to protect lives. Operational security is about having processes in place for how the staff operate routinely (e.g., credentialing of visitors) and how they respond when something happens (e.g., communication protocols).

Clients and staff at New DanvilleKyle West, a SHSU student, said that safety and security are about expecting the unexpected and thinking creatively.

“Under the ‘all-hazards approach’, you have to consider everything,” said Joshua Marreel, another presenter. “While for certain events of low probability, the risk may be low, if they happen, reactions need to be quick.”

For example, Marreel indicated that the county adopted new flood plain maps in 2014, which identified additional acreage in New Danville as areas prone to flooding. Karyn Grace, New Danville Program Director confirmed that the area did flood once, forcing staff and volunteers to scurry people, animals, and equipment to the top of the nearest hill

Security studies students confer with Cynthia Jamieson, Montgomery County Office of Emergency Management Planning.While the thoughts of potential disasters may feel overwhelming, it is not necessary to plan for a variety of scenarios. The Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) recommends the development of an all-hazards approach to safety and security assessments which includes standard operating procedures in the event of any incident. The procedures recommend designating the people who will be in charge of a game plan, training personnel in standardized emergency management system, identifying resources needed, and coordinating with community partners, from emergency personnel, parents and others involved in the community. Regular exercises and drills also should be held to practice responses and to familiarize all involved with the community and its clientele and to develop lessons learned and best practices recommended student Travis Watson. Exercises in New Danville are of particular significance because of its very unique special-needs population that requires beyond standard approaches for communication and interaction in disaster.

Willis Chief James Nowak discusses safety planning with New Danville Manager Karyn Grace.The purpose of a sound planning process should be to identify potential vulnerabilities and risks before crises occur and to build partnership with not only within New Danville, but also will members of local, county, regional, and state agencies and businesses to include non-governmental organizations (NGOs) who may be able to assist in emergencies, advocated student Andrew Robinson. It is also important to identify avenues of communication in times of emergency, including telephones, cell phones, television and radios and to make sure such communication channels are interoperable. For example, the county has an emergency notification system called “code red” that can call local phone numbers to alert them to disasters, said student Courtney Shaw. The federal government through agencies such as FEMA also provides standardized training models online in the use of its National Incident Management System. Even though New Danville staff and volunteers may have to modify certain aspects of incident planning and response because of their unique profile, being interoperable with larger safety and security community is vital.

“You have given us a lot to think about,” said Grace.

The meeting prompted many discussions among staff, local law enforcement and students.Moderator Daniel Gregory Carmona summarized the recommendations and fielded questions from the audience. The students vowed to continue to help the community to develop more specific plans in future courses. Indeed, collaboration with the New Danville community is a long term project for the cohort. Chief of Willis Police James Nowak commended the students underscoring that, considering it was their first class in emergency management, they “did a fairly thorough analysis and the staff seemed to be spurred to action by them”.

Dr. Magdalena Denham (r) led the ACE class.Dr. Magdalena Denham, the professor in the ACE Crisis Management Integration course in the Department of Security Studies highlighted the value of experiential learning through community engagement. Exposure to actual needs of the community and application of concepts learned in class through problem solving in the real world gives deeper dimension to learning and builds stronger empathy and commitment among the students. Not coincidentally experiential learning fulfills the creed of Sam Houston State University ‘The Measure of a Life is Its Service.’