Citing a lack of transparency in the process and a fear that the criminal justice program will be diminished, students, alumni and faculty of the College of Criminal Justice are joining in opposition to the possible restructuring of the college.
A 13-member committee was charged with considering options for organizational change to the college in January. One of the options would include dissolving the college and allowing the program to be absorbed by the College of Arts and Sciences.
Despite several forums that were supposed to open the discussion to the public, many students said they haven’t been given the answers they are looking for.
Darren Costa, president-elect of the recently formed Criminal Justice Student Advisory Council, said he has tried repeatedly to obtain basic information from the committee and has been denied. Costa said Vice Provost for Academic affairs Mary Loeffelholz, the only member of the committee to attend the forums, has not been forthcoming when questioned and has been inaccessible outside of meetings.
“We’ve requested information, and we get shot down again, and again, and again,” he said. “We get the same generic answers from the vice provost, and it’s extremely frustrating and concerning when you have so many students threatening to transfer and the committee is not listening.”
On Feb. 10, Provost Stephen Director said at a Council for University Programs “Eye to Eye” meeting that students would have the opportunity to interact with the committee weighing the pros and cons of the restructure.
At the forum held Feb. 24, Loeffelholz avoided answering questions from attendees: “We’re here to hear more from you than you are from me.”
Costa said he has a petition with more than five pages of signatures from students, alumni and faculty who fear that the restructuring will damage the national identity of the program and marginalize its quality. He has also e-mailed parents, alumni and incoming students to inform them of the possible changes, which he said the administration has failed to do adequately.
In a Feb. 19 meeting with The News, President Joseph Aoun said students should not worry about prospective organizational changes to the College of Criminal Justice because he doesn’t “do anything that creates a disadvantage.”
“I’m going to be against anything that diminishes our quality or momentum,” he said. “The only reason [for the restructuring] is to provide more opportunities, including joint appointments, including joint access to programs and faculties; otherwise why would we do it?”
Professor, former Dean and College of Criminal Justice alumnus Jack Greene said in a letter to the editor in the April 9 issue of The News that the restructuring is already underway and will decrease the size of the criminal justice program.
Greene said in the past two years, there have been 360 and 375 students admitted to CJ, respectively. For next year, only 144 students were accepted, which Greene said will likely cut the size of the incoming class by about 60 percent as compared to the two previous years.
“In my view this is a calculated and engineered strategy that will decimate criminal justice at Northeastern, not reorganize it into another structure,” he said.
Kutztown University of Pennsylvania criminal justice professor Gary Cordner, who graduated from the Northeastern College of Criminal Justice in 1974, said his experience as a dean of the College of Justice and Safety at Eastern Kentucky University for six years gave him a sense that operating as an individual college creates a reputation that is valuable. Cordner said he hopes the reorganization does not occur because it would hurt the university’s reputation.
Senior criminal justice major Karin Pipczynski said she thinks the restructuring is a foregone conclusion and the forums have been a front to placate angry students, faculty and alumni.
“Recruiters from the CIA were here two weeks ago, and I mentioned to both of them the possibility of restructuring,” she said. “They looked at each other and said, ‘we came to Northeastern to recruit for the CIA because of the College of Criminal Justice, that’s what led us here and not anywhere else.’”
Despite frustrations, Costa said he will continue to pursue information from the administration and voice his opposition to the changes.
“The students of the College of Criminal Justice refuse to roll over and die,” he said. “We’re not going to lay down and just let this roll over us. We’re going to fight this tooth and nail to the very end.”
Possible CJ change disliked by many
Published: Monday, April 13, 2009
Updated: Monday, April 13, 2009
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