@John Jay News and Events of Interest to the College Community

January 27, 2010

Worth NotingFebruary 1 7:00 PMLecture Series: Justice &Injustice in 1950s AmericaThe 1950s Nobody KnowsMichael MeeropolVisiting Associate Professorof Economics, John Jay College

Room 630 Haaren Hall

February 1-2 8:30 AM5th Annual Guggenheim Symposium on Crime in AmericaCriminal Justice Reform: What Works?What Doesn’t? What Don’t We Know?Presented by the Center on Media, Crime and Justice. Includes presentation of the John Jay Excellence in Journalism Awards.

Room 630 Haaren Hall

February 8 6:00 PMLloyd Sealy LecturePolice Chief Val B. DemingsOrlando, FL

Gerald W. Lynch Theater Lobby

February 8 7:00 PMLecture Series: Justice &Injustice in 1950s AmericaThe Changing Concept of Freedomin the United States, 1945 – 1960Eric FonerColumbia University

Room 630 Haaren Hall

The National Network for Safe Communities (NNSC), a John Jay College-sponsored coalition of leading criminal justice officials and scholars from jurisdictions throughout the United States, held its first annual conference on December 2-3, with an eye toward spreading the word about strategies aimed at preventing gang-related homicide and other serious violence and eliminating overt drug markets.

The strategies are the handiwork of Professor David Kennedy, Director of John Jay’s Center on Crime Prevention and Control. They have already been successfully implemented in a number of American cities, with ensuing dramatic decreases in serious crime.

“We’ve been losing whole generations of young people to the streets, prison or murder, and we simply don’t have to live with that any longer,” said Kennedy.

The December conference, coming less than six months after the network’s formal launch last year, brought together 300 attendees from 75 cities in 22 states and countries, including England, Peru, Gaza, Israel, Australia and the Netherlands. John Jay President Jeremy Travis said in his welcoming remarks: “You represent all the professions that are working toward safety and justice — police executives, youth workers, pastors, prosecutors, correction officers, social service providers, academics, journalists, educators, community activists and formerly incarcerated men and women.” The conference,

Travis added, will help participants “strengthen your commitment to changing the world.”

Travis and Kennedy serve as NNSC co-chairs.Bernard R. Melekian, a former police chief

who now serves as Director of the U.S. Justice Department’s Office of Community-Oriented Policing Services, noted in a keynote address: “Community policing must be a philosophy, not a project. It must be a commitment to building relationships and solving problems.”

The conference was a two-day whirl of plenary and breakout sessions, punctuated with count-less “corridor conferences” among participants eager to do some on-the-spot problem-solving

with colleagues. Sessions explored the nuts and bolts of the NNSC’s twin strategies; project man-agement; race, reconciliation and truth- telling; community engagement, and cutting-edge operational innovations, among other topics.

For more information on the NNSC, visit www.nnscommunities.org.

Gov. David A. Paterson’s Task Force on Transforming Juvenile Justice, chaired by John Jay President Jeremy Travis, released its final report on December 14, in which it called for investment in community-based, treatment-focused services that can improve outcomes for youth and their families and hold youths accountable for their actions while promoting greater public safety.

Travis said the task force’s 20 sweeping recommendations “will bring New York State in line with best practices that can help troubled youth and their families, protect the public and optimize scarce state resources.”

The task force was composed of state and local officials, representatives from unions, advocacy groups and community-based organizations, and academic experts from across the United States. In producing its report — “Charting a New Course: A Blueprint for Transforming Juvenile Justice in New York State” — task force members conducted an extensive review of research literature, analyzed reams of data and visited jurisdictions and facilities throughout the state.

The Vera Institute of Justice provided staffing, data analysis and logistical support for the task force.

Paterson created the task force in September 2008 and charged it with developing ways to change a punitive-based system in which more than 1,600 youths enter correctional institutions each year, at an annual cost of roughly $210,000 per child. The task force found that many of the incarcerated youths leave the system more angry, fearful or violent than when they entered.

Among the report’s specific recommendations are:

• Reserve institutional placement for youth who pose a significant risk to public safety, and

ensuring that no youth is placed in a facility because of social service needs;

• Reduce the disproportionate representation of youth of color in institutional placement;

• Ensure that New York State operates a unified and cohesive system of care that keeps all youth in its custody safe, whether in private or government-run facilities;

• Downsize or close underutilized facilities, and reinvest those savings in communities;

• Make facilities more conducive to positive youth development and rehabilitation;

• Limit the amount of time youth spend in institutional facilities;

• Establish an independent, external oversight body to monitor and report on juvenile justice policies and practices.

The task force report can be accessed online at www.vera.org/paterson-task-force-juvenile-justice-report.

With the sizable population of Haitian-American students at John Jay, the recent earthquake that devastated the Caribbean nation was an especially poignant and personal tragedy, and the college community has quickly mobilized to assist with relief efforts.

Expressing “solidarity” with the John Jay students, staff, faculty and community members who are of Haitian descent, President Jeremy Travis said, “This is a time for our community to come together to assist those who are affected by this unspeakable tragedy.”

Travis designated Vice President for Student Development Berenecea Johnson Eanes to take the lead in coordinating the College’s disaster response.

“The catastrophe in Haiti reminds us all that tragedy can strike at any time,” said Eanes. The centerpiece of the College’s response will be a “Help Rebuild Haiti Campaign” that will feature a variety of fundraising events through the spring 2010 semester. Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts will partner with the College on many of the events, Eanes noted.

Monetary donations will be accepted in the Haaren Hall and North Hall lobbies beginning on January 22, and in the Westport lobby beginning on January 28. “Give as generously as your circumstances permit,” Eanes said, noting that the funds will be distributed to reputable organizations such as the Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, Yele Haiti and others for the purchase of food, water, medical supplies and other necessities as determined by the relief

organizations.Volunteers are needed to staff donation tables,

and should contact the Division of Student Development at 212.237.8100 and/or e-mail helprebuildhaiti@jjay.cuny.edu.

The Department of Counseling is available for those members of the student body who need support as they react to the natural disaster or who need help in accessing external resources. Individual counseling support or group consultations can be arranged by contacting the Counseling Center at 212.237.8111.

Members of the faculty and staff in need of such services should contact Dean of Human Resources Donald Gray (212.237.8512) or Director of Human Resources Christél Colon (212.237.8296).

Brennon Taylor, a graduate student and John Jay Peer Ambassador, is one of many who are devoting time, energy and resources to earthquake relief efforts. “I have extended family as well as friends who were directly affected by this catastrophe,” said Taylor. “Some of us have learned that aunts, nephews and siblings are either missing or dead. Those who are alive are homeless and are suffering from dehydration, malnutrition, diarrhea and infectious diseases from the dead bodies lying next to them in the middle of the street.”

Taylor estimated that roughly 1,000 students make up the Haitian and Haitian-American population at John Jay, with more numbered among the College’s alumni. The Haitian and

African student associations are taking the lead, along with faculty and administrators, in organizing relief efforts at John Jay, including the desperately needed fundraising drives.

“It would be awesome if the school can unite a group to go to Haiti for this cause,” said Taylor, noting that he plans to travel to Haiti himself to help in rebuilding efforts. “Basically, I would like to offer a helping hand wherever I can,” he said.

Keynote speaker Bernard R. Melekian (left), Director of the U.S. Justice Department’s Office of

Community-Oriented Policing Services, enjoys an informal moment with President Travis and

Professor David Kennedy, co-chairs of the National Network for Safe Communities.

Report Has Some Stern Suggestions for ReformingNew York Juvenile Justice

Conference Helps Jump-Start Network for Safe Communities

All Hands on Deck, as College Rallies to Aid Victims of Haitian Earthquake

An earthquake survivor’s face says it all: Please help!

FACULTY / STAFF NOTES

@ John Jay is published by theOffice of Marketing and Development

John Jay College of Criminal Justice555 West 57th Street New York, NY 10019www.jjay.cuny.edu

Editor Peter Dodenhoff

Submissions should be faxed or e-mailed to:Office of Communications

fax: (212) 237-8642e-mail: pdodenhoff@jjay.cuny.edu

educating for justice

Eighteen employees were honored as the latest winners of the Bravo! Employee Recognition Awards on December 14.

“I love the Bravo! Award program,” said President Jeremy Travis. “To be able to recognize employees who are making such a difference is a very great honor and pleasure for me.”

The fifth semiannual group of divisional Bravo! Award winners were recognized for their “new and creative ideas, innovative problem-solving and superior customer service, noted Robert Pignatello, Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration. Pignatello said one measure of the employee-recognition program’s success is that the Bravo! Awards are “getting more competitive each year.”

The College’s vice presidents were called to the podium in alphabetical order to introduce the employees in their units who were to receive the Bravo! Awards. The winners were:

Academic Affairs: Christopher Aviles (Latin American and Latina/o Studies), Anila Duro (Graduate Studies), Kevin Nesbitt (Provost’s Office), Kate Szur (First-Year Experience), Sumaya Villanueva (Academic Advisement);

Student Development: Elena Beharry (Counseling), Christine Givens (Counseling);

Finance and Administration: Juan Baez (Information Technology), Gina Galligan (Budget), Jonathan Romano (Facilities), Gulen Zubizarreta (Human Resources);

Marketing and Development: Elizabeth McCabe (Government Relations); Kathy Willis (Publications);

Enrollment Management: Christopher Laudando (Undergraduate Admissions), Rose O’Neil (Student Financial Services), Katarzyna Pszeniczna (Vice President’s Office), Mairym Roldan (Graduate Admissions);

President’s Office: Rulisa Galloway-Perry.

PRESENTING…WAYNE EDWARDS (Dean of Students) and MA’AT LEWIS (Counseling) made a presentation, titled “First-Time BIT Challenges at an Urban Campus within a Public University System: A Case Study,” at the 2009 conference of the National Behavioral Intervention Team Association, held December 10-11 in San Antonio, TX. The presentation was based on their work and experience as members of John Jay’s Behavioral Intervention Team.

LORRAINE MOLLER (Communication and

Theatre Arts) presented a paper at the recent New York State Communication Association conference in Ellenville, NY. The paper, “Myths and Realities about Working with Women Behind Bars,” focused on Moller’s work in theatre with incarcerated women at the Bayview Correctional Facility in Manhattan. Her paper “Project Slam: Rehabilitation through Theatre at Sing Sing Correctional Facility” was accepted for presentation at the 5th International Conference on the Arts in Society, scheduled for spring 2010 in Sydney, Australia.

KIMORA (Law, Police Science and Criminal Justice Administration) spoke to female offenders at the Century Regional Detention Facility in Los Angeles, CA, on December 11. The talk, titled “Take your Recovery Seriously,” focused on the educational and rehabilitative services available to inmates wishing to overcome substance abuse and domestic violence. On December 18, she spoke to the entire inmate population at Edgecombe Correctional Facility in New York on the subject of “Making Reentry Work for You.”

BETWEEN THE COVERSGEORGE ANDREOPOULOS (Political Science) and MARIA VICTORIA PEREZ-RIOS (Political Science) recently authored a report on NGO Strategies to Implement United Nations Security Council Resolution 1820, which was commissioned by the International Women’s Tribune Center (IWTC). The report grew out of a strategy session organized by the IWTC, for which Andreopoulos and Perez-Rios acted as consultants.

CHARLES JENNINGS (Protection Management) was cited in the November 2009 issue of Old House Journal discussing fire safety in older homes. He stressed the importance of maintenance and upkeep, and the role of human behavior in starting many fires.

PEER REVIEWALEXANDER SCHULTZ (English) has won the 2009 Jean-Pierre Barricelli Prize for his book Mind’s World: Imagination and Subjectivity

from Descartes to Romanticism (University of Washington Press, 2009). The prize was presented by the International Conference on Romanticism in recognition of the year’s best book in Romanticism studies.

MARCIA ESPARZA (Criminal Justice) recently won a National Endowment for the Humanities Faculty Research Award, which will be used to complete her manuscript on the aftermath of war and genocide in Guatemala.

JANE KATZ (Health and Physical Education) was featured in a cover story in the fall 2009 publication of the Council for Aquatic Professionals, a division of the American Asso-ciation for Physical Activity and Recreation. In October, Katz competed and won several medals in the Synchronized Swimming National Championships and the World Senior Games, held in St. George, UT. She also won four gold medals at the Eastern Zone swimming championships, held in Corona, NY, in December.

Crystal Ferguson, a two-sport student-athlete at John Jay, has won an appointment as a White House intern for the spring 2010 semester.

Ferguson underwent a rigorous application process for the coveted internship, competing against hundreds of candidates from many of the nation’s top universities. The screening process included the submission of essays, letters of recommendation and an interview with a White House official.

“A White House internship is a tremendous achievement,” said John Jay President Jeremy Travis. “We are very proud of Crystal and confident that this will be the experience of a lifetime for her. We’re equally pleased that yet

another member of the John Jay community will be joining the Obama Administration.”

In recent months, former faculty members James Lynch and Ellen Scrivner and alumni Benjamin Tucker and Beatrice Wilkinson Welters were named to top positions in the Obama Administration.

Ferguson said she was “very excited” to hear that she had won the White House internship. “When I first found out, I was crying,” she said. “I

Dozens of John Jay freshmen stood proudly alongside poster presentations in the North Hall Multi-Purpose Room on December 10, showing off their research projects as part of the Learning Community Student Showcase 2009.

“It really is amazing that first-year students are doing such original research,” said Kate Szur, Director of the First-Year Experience program. Entering freshmen at John Jay can choose from 25 Learning Communities, of which nine, along with a First-Year Seminar, presented their research at the showcase.

There are approximately 25 students in each Learning Community, under the tutelage of two professors from different disciplines, Szur noted. Students collaborate on research and presentations, either by design or at the suggestion of their professors.

Claire Prince, a member of the John Jay women’s basketball team, and Keshia Hacker, a member of the swim team, started their research projects separately, but came together after Professors Frank Gimpaya and Pat Licklider detected a common thread in their areas of interest. “I started with an investigation of Queen Nefertiti, who was a beauty icon for her time,”

said Prince. Hacker said she was “into Goth” and “interested in death.” The result of their collaboration was a look at mummification, or what Prince called “the art of death.”

Keenan Adams-Edwards and Jesse Lama, under the guidance of Professors Kimora and Geoffrey Jacques, offered a poster presentation on what Adams-Edwards termed “different aspects of criminal justice that we could improve.” Lama focused on homicide, a topic that he said had always intrigued him. Adams-Edwards looked at mental and social rehabilitation in correctional settings.

Said Adams-Edwards, “For both of us the focus was on preventability — preventing homicide deaths and preventing repeat incarcerations.”

The next day, student participants in another innovative learning venture unveiled their own creative efforts as part of “Underground Words/Underground Images,” a poetry reading and photography exhibition.

For the exhibit, which was an adjunct to a contest sponsored by the Subway Series project, students were asked to chronicle their daily commute in words and images. “Why do these

Broad smiles were the order of the day for the latest winners of the Bravo! Employee Recognition Awards on December 14.

College Salutes Employees Whose Service Goes the Extra Mile

Student Research & CreativityEnjoy End-of-Term Spotlight

two journeys — going to school and traveling to school — have to be mutually exclusive?” observed Professor Mark McBeth, the English department’s deputy chair for writing programs. “The vibrant commute to school should act as part of the educational experience.”

One student, Deborah Azulphart, won the

First-Year Experience Prize for Photography for a nine-image PowerPoint presentation that wowed the contest judges.

“The poems and photos are artistic, ethno-graphic, resonant and powerful,” said McBeth. “The people who created them should be very proud.”

Winson Thai, a junior, captured an A train arriving in a station for the exhibit “Underground Words/ Underground Images.”

John Jay Student Wins Prized White House Internshipjust hope I can make as many connections as possible, learn as much as I can and represent myself and John Jay College to the best of my ability.”

A member of the women’s cross-country and basketball teams, Ferguson is no stranger to politics, having worked on the recent reelection campaign of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. In 2007, she participated in the All-Star

Project’s Development School for Youth, a 14-week leadership-training program for young people age 16-21. Her participation earned her a paid internship the following summer with Health Plus Insurance Company.

Ferguson is a junior majoring in Deviant Behavior and Social Control, with career ambitions of becoming an attorney.

The White House Internship Program provides a unique opportunity to gain valuable professional experience and build leadership skills. The hands-on program is designed to mentor and cultivate young leaders, strengthen their understanding of the Executive Office and prepare them for future public service.Crystal Ferguson