News

October 17, 2018

UAlbany’s School of Criminal Justice Celebrates a Half-Century of Research and Teaching Excellence

Issues of crime and justice capture the public’s attention and intersect with some of the most fundamental aspects of any society. With new police chiefs in our three major cities – Albany, Schenectady and Troy – understanding crime, violence and policy is more important than ever for those who cover police and courts.

For 50 years, the University at Albany’s School of Criminal Justice (SCJ) has taken an interdisciplinary approach to researching crime and justice and the societal, political and policy issues that influence them.

Now marking half a century of preparing the next generation of criminal justice leaders and researchers, SJC, the first nation’s first doctoral-granting institute of criminal justice, remains as relevant as ever.

Faculty experts are available to help you make sense of gang violence, incarceration, reentry and recidivism, national and international crime rates, and the policies that shape policing, courts and punishment.

Graduates of SCJ have gone on to become researchers and practitioners. They lead criminological scholarship as well as criminal justice agencies and non-profits, all of which shape policy and inform the next generation of criminal justice leaders. The school is home to two of the top academic journals in the field, as well as the new Youth Justice Institute, a partnership with the state Department of Criminal Justice Services and the Office of Children and Family Services. Major New York police agencies send select officers to SCJ for advanced degrees annually.

This weekend the School officially celebrates its 50th anniversary, with alumni from the first graduating class expected to attend. On Saturday there will be an open house at the School from 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., including a student research poster session and a faculty and alumni panel discussion moderated by Dean William Pridemore. For a full list of anniversary events, click here.

For more information on the School or to speak to a criminal justice expert, contact Margaret Hartley in the Office of Communications and Marketing, 518-956-8160. To learn more about the School of Criminal Justice’s 50-year history, see the attached fact sheet.