Criminal Justice receives new designation as 'School'

Posted by University News Service

May 25, 2012

The Department of Criminal Justice at Texas State University-San Marcos has been re-designated as the School of Criminal Justice by the Texas State University System Board of Regents.

The designation recognizes the growth in size and prestige of the Texas State criminal justice program over the past several years. It is intended to help the school attract, recruit and retain additional high-quality students and faculty from across the country.

“It has been thrilling to participate in the unparalleled growth of such a dynamic program over the past 11 years,” said Quint Thurman, head of the criminal justice program. “We’ve progressed from a small department that excelled at undergraduate teaching to a multi-faceted unit that has developed an exemplary record of achievement in research and in the acquisition of external funding.”

The school currently enrolls more than 1,000 undergraduate students, more than 100 master’s degree students and more than 40 doctoral students. In addition to traditional undergraduate and graduate degree programs, the school also administers the Center for Geospatial Intelligence and Investigation, the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training (ALERRT) program, the Texas Justice Court Training Center and Texas CrimeStoppers. It also offers a graduate certificate in intelligence analysis.

The School of Criminal Justice receives external funding from the U.S. Department of Justice, the Department of Defense and the Texas Department of Public Safety.

“It has greatly enhanced our ability to support graduate students and has raised our visibility nationally,” Thurman said.

Thurman said the school boasts an outstanding faculty, including Texas State’s first appointed research professor and internationally recognized experts in geographic profiling, environmental criminology, criminal justice ethics and macrocriminology.

The TSUS Regents voted to re-designate the department as a school during their regular board meeting held May 24-25 in Beaumont on the campus of Lamar University.