Current Newsletter (november 19, 2008)

@John Jay Worth Noting November 19-25 A Few Good (wo)Men

Presented by the Department of Communication and Theatre Arts Gerald W. Lynch Theater (Times vary. Call 212-279-4200 or visit www.ticketcentral.com for tickets.)

December 2 4:30 PM Homecoming Basketball Games

Includes men’s and women’s games, alumni reception and indoor tailgate party Gymnasium

December 4 12:40 PM - 2:00 PM “And Justice for All? Assessing the Changing Climate for Criminal Justice Reform” Dr. Marc Mauer Executive Director, The Sentencing Project Presented by the Center on Race, Crime and Justice Room 630 Haaren Hall

December 4 7:30 PM The Universal Declaration of Human Rights 60th Anniversary Concert

Featuring the International Orchestra for Human Rights plus guest speakers, guest soloists and international children’s choir Gerald W. Lynch Theater

December 18 3:15 PM 27th Annual Jack Brennan Children’s Holiday Party Volunteers needed Gymnasium

News and Events of Interest to the College Community November 19, 2008

“The Present Is Strong, The Future Bright” President Travis Assesses State of the College

On November 5, one day after the United States began to write “an exciting and historic new chapter,” President Jeremy Travis delivered his first State of the College Address in which he declared John Jay’s present to be strong and its future bright. Before an audience that included faculty, staff, students, administrators and board members of both the John Jay College Foundation and the John Jay Alumni Association, Travis spoke with pride of the hundreds of thousands of students — “full of ambition, eager to leave their mark” — who have been touched by the John Jay experience over the years. Travis reaffirmed the College’s core mission of educating for justice, and said John Jay’s “priceless assets” of its storied history, elevating public mission, dedicated faculty, highly motivated students and loyal alumni now serve as the building blocks on which a sweeping transformation is taking place. “The past four years have been a time of enormous change at John Jay,” Travis said. “We have all been working hard, in so many ways, to improve this institution that we love. We can take pride in the significant progress we have made toward becoming a preeminent academic institution. We should also be honest about the substantial distance we have yet to travel.” Travis said the ongoing transformation of John Jay consists of three interlocking initiatives — a fundamental change in the student profile, a historic faculty hiring initiative and the

“We are better prepared than ever to navigate the uncertain waters that lie ahead. We will maintain our forward momentum. Now is not the time for us to trim our sails.” revitalization of academic programs. • Changing the Student Profile. Admissions standards have been raised, partnerships have been created with community colleges to educate associate degree students, and new initiatives are being launched to improve student success, including retention and graduation rates. Recent incoming baccalaureate classes have increased, Travis noted. “Our experience is validating a powerful lesson learned at other universities,” he said. “Raising admissions standards attracts more students.” • Faculty Hiring. The growth of the faculty is more than just numerical. New faculty members joining the College’s ranks are “committed to scholarship that crosses disciplinary boundaries and energized by the opportunity to teach our students,” said Travis. Senior faculty members are editing prestigious scholarly journals,

holding leadership positions in leading academic associations, producing critically acclaimed books and generating millions of dollars in research funding. • Revitalizing Academic Programs. The revitalization of John Jay’s academic programs has unleashed “a remarkable burst of creative energy” on the part of faculty members and others who are rising to the challenge of creating “exciting new majors and minors” in a broad array of liberal arts disciplines. In addition, Travis said, existing majors are being revamped, the design of a new Honors Program is being finalized, an overhaul of the College’s general education curriculum is in progress, and a FirstYear Experience is being created. In looking to the future, Travis noted that the next important challenge is to increase the retention and graduation rates of graduate and undergraduate students. To do this, the College will need to continue to invest in its faculty and academic programs. In closing, President Travis called for the College community to meet this challenge and set a goal of celebrating John Jay’s 50th Anniversary in 2014 by raising “our six-year graduation rate for baccalaureate students above 50 percent, and the four-year rate for graduate students above 66 percent.” [For the complete text of the President’s State of the College Address, visit the John Jay Web site at www.jjay.cuny.edu.]

Bratton, Ex-New York Top Cop, Draws SRO Audience for Talk on Police Leadership Where some leaders see crises, William Bratton sees only opportunities. Bratton, Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, brought his views on cutting-edge police leadership to the annual Patrick V. Murphy Lecture on October 22. Hosted by the John Jay Leadership Academy, his talk on “transformative leadership” drew a standing-room-only audience. “No conversation about police leadership in this country would be complete without Bill Bratton,” President Jeremy Travis said

Forensic Science John Jay-Style Is a Hit with Visiting British Students John Jay’s reputation for global leadership made its science labs a must-visit for several dozen forensic science students from the University of Lincoln in England on their recent trip to New York. The visitors, all second- and third-year honors students, were treated to a thorough immersion in forensic science American-style. The John Jay team included Professor Lawrence Kobilinsky, Chair of the Department of Sciences, With Peter Diaczuk (left) awaiting his turn, Professor Lawrence Kobilinsky addresses Science Professor Nicholas a group of visiting English forensic science students. Petraco Jr, who arranged the visit, Professor Glenn laboratories of Pfizer, the pharmaceutical giant. Corbett, Chair of the Department of Protection The visitors were treated to presentations and Management, and Peter Diaczuk, Director of demonstrations on DNA analysis, explosives and Training for the Center for Modern Forensic the post-incident analysis of the collapse of the Practice. World Trade Center. During a lively questionDr. D. Ross Williams, a senior lecturer in and-answer session, the students delved into forensic and biomedical sciences at the English such topics as the differences between forensic institution, led the students on their whirlwind science in the United States and England and six-day visit, which also included stops at the the prospects and process for a forensic science American Museum of Natural History, the New graduate from England who might be seeking York City police and fire museums and the work in the U.S.

in introducing Bratton, who served as New York City Police Commissioner from 1994 to 1996 under Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. “Bill has brought accountability and transparency to the police function. He believes in — and practices — external accountability along with internal communication.” Bratton, who described his presentation as “a discussion rather than a lecture,” mused that the talk could well have taken its title from an old Broadway hit, “gray skies are gonna clear up, put on a happy face.” Those who put their trust in him as a leader, Bratton said, “have an expectation that things are going to change for the better.” Leaders, he noted, are in a position to transform organizations. “I think of myself as a transformative leader,” Bratton said. “I see crises as opportunities.” People expect that leaders will create change and be risk takers, he said. As a police executive, Bratton has focused on decentralizing leadership down through the organization. “My leadership style is that you can’t do it alone,” he said. “You have to get the right people in place as quickly as possible. You inspire them and they inspire you. You allow them to take risks, to make mistakes, and then you reward their successes.” Recalling some of his predecessors in the New York City Police Department, including Murphy, Robert McGuire, Benjamin Ward and Lee P. Brown, Bratton noted that they had very different personalities and each faced different challenges, from corruption and reform to the crack epidemic to the implementation of community policing. “What I shared with my predecessors was a belief that we could make change,” he said. Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Bratton observed that policing abruptly moved into uncharted waters, noting, “It took leadership to refocus an organization that had been focused on controlling crime and disorder.” In the post-9/11 era, he added, “leadership is going to have to ensure that we get it right. We

Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton sees himself as a change agent and risk taker.

have to take some risks, and we need to have leadership that understands the importance of working together to make change.” As policing has evolved through several different eras, from the professional model through problem-oriented community policing models to intelligence-led policing, the next era, Bratton suggested, will be characterized as predictive policing. This model will be based on a strong capacity to predict crimes through the development of timely, accurate and robust intelligence. Reflecting on a 38-year law enforcement career that shows no sign of ending soon, Bratton said he loves, lives and breathes policing. “There’s nothing that has such an immediate impact on people’s lives as policing,” he said. “I believe in my profession. I believe that police matter.”

FACULTY / STAFF NOTES ON BOARD DIANE RAMIREZ (Physical Education and Athletics) was named head coach of women’s basketball and equipment manager. Ramirez is a 2007 graduate of Baruch College, where she served as assistant women’s basketball coach for the past two seasons, and played for three seasons prior to that.

BETWEEN THE COVERS WANDA FERNANDOPULLE (Career Development) had her biography of Richard Allen, one of the founders of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, published in a firsttime, eight-volume print edition of the African American National Biography (AANB). The AANB, published by the Du Bois Institute at Harvard University and the Oxford University Press, is the largest collective biography of African Americans ever produced and is already recognized as the standard in the field.

HOWARD PFLANZER (Communication and Theatre Arts) had a review/commentary, “Existential Affairs,” a look at Edward and Kate Fullbrook’s book Sex and Philosophy: Rethinking De Beauvoir and Sartre, published in the October 2008 CUNY Graduate Center Advocate. His review of Robert Roth’s book Health Proxy was published in the volume Cultural Logic 2007. In addition, two of his poems recently appeared in the literary magazine And Then.

ADINA SCHWARTZ (Law, Police Science and Criminal Justice Administration) presented “ ‘I Know It When I See It’ and Criminalistics” at the annual meeting of the Northeastern Association of Forensic Scientists on October 3, during a general session on “Debating the Forensic Science in Forensic Science.” On October 23, Schwartz made a Continuing Legal Education presentation on “Firearms & Tool Marks” at the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association’s annual forensics seminar in Dallas, TX.

PRESENTING… GEORGE ANDREOPOULOS (Government) presented a paper on “The Regulation of Corporate Activities Under Human Rights Treaties” at the annual conference of the International Academy of Business and Economics in Las Vegas, Nevada, October 1922. The paper was co-authored with Giuliana Campanelli and Alexandros Panayides of William Paterson University.

ROY PERHAM (Psychology) presented a workshop, “A Two-Stage Assessment Center that Brought ALL Employees to a Higher Level of Performance,” at the 34th International Congress on Assessment Center Methods in Washington, DC, on September 24. KIMORA (Law, Police Science and Criminal Justice Administration) addressed a group

of students from the High School for Arts, Imagination and Inquiry at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Educational Campus about self-esteem enhancement and choosing an academic career over criminal activity on October 15.

PEER REVIEW MIRIAM EHRENBERG (Psychology), in her role as executive director of the Institute for Human Identity (a nonprofit psychotherapy center in Manhattan), was awarded a grant from the New York State Department of Health for Family Q, a five-year innovative program that offers free workshops to gay and lesbian parents and prospective parents on the emotional issues involved in alternate family building. The grant also provides counseling training for selected interns on the special issues such parents face in raising families. (Students who might be interested in applying for the program should visit www.ihi-therapycenter.org/familyq and contact Professor Ehrenberg.)

The Future Starts Now for John Jay’s Vera Fellows Thanks to participating in the Vera Seminar program, nine select John Jay students are currently reaping the benefits of internships with local criminal justice and social service agencies. The Vera Seminar, a collaborative effort between the College and the Vera Institute of Justice, is administered through the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies (ISP). The program places students in one-year paid internships in which they receive one-on-one mentoring from experienced professionals in such areas as domestic violence, homelessness, prisoner reentry, disability advocacy and juvenile justice. Participants must be juniors or seniors with at least a 3.3 grade point average. “Interning with a Vera agency has — after only one month — completely changed my perspective on what my future could be,” said Ridhi Berry about her experiences at the New York Criminal Justice Agency. Greta Luback, an intern with Job Path, was quick to agree. “All the things we do push me out of my comfort zone, and prepare me that much more for things I will do in the future,” she said.

Students in the Vera program attend a weekly seminar with Professors Abby Stein (ISP), Caroline Reitz (English) and Alisse Waterston (Anthropology). The academic component includes scholarly reading and discussion, guest lectures, site visits to the agencies and to courtrooms, an active blog and participation in the Total Leadership Program, created by Stewart D. Friedman, a management professor at the Wharton School of Business. At an October 16 gathering, agency mentors sang the praises of the students’ passion and intelligence, saying their presence had reinvigorated seasoned staffers. Students were equally enthusiastic about their participation. “We really should fight to make sure this internship program will be around to serve other students for future semesters,” said Kerry-Ann Hewitt. “It is a tremendous opportunity for those who have the privilege to be a part of it.” A new cohort of students will join the Vera Seminar program for the fall 2009 semester. To apply, or to obtain more information, contact Professor Stein at [email protected].

The 2008-2009 Vera Fellows and their faculty advisors: (seated, left to right) Elizabeth Antoia, Renee Petrocelli, Professor Alisse Waterston, Ridhi Berry; (standing) Kerry-Ann Hewitt, Maureen Gerardi, Darakshan Raja, Greta Luback, Professor Caroline Reitz, Octavia Otetea-Uddin, Professor Abby Stein, Amanda Ingle.

Forensic Science Majors and Faculty Make Their Mark A team of forensic science majors mentored by Professor Diana Friedland of the Department of Sciences recently wrapped up a busy year for research with a strong showing at several regional academic conferences, including the Northeastern Association of Forensic Scientists (NEAFS) Collegiate Competition in White Plains, NY, and the Peach State LSAMP (Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation) Student Research Conference in Savannah, GA. The science department was a significant presence at the NEAFS conference, with faculty members and students presenting research and

participating in workshops on subjects that included toolmark and fingerprint identification, DNA analysis, forensic science education, arson investigation and toxicology. The delegation included faculty members Margaret Wallace, Gloria Proni, Linda Rourke, Elise Champeil, Donald Hoffman, Nicholas Petraco Sr., Nicholas Petraco Jr., Peter Diaczuk and Friedland, and students Jason Beckert, Cassandra Gershaw, Marta Szpilowska and Jeannine DeGrazia. Kristen Tregar, who received her master’s degree in forensic science in May, was also part of the John Jay contingent.

The Friedland research team. Seated: Artem Domashevskiy, Kana Noro, Jeannine DeGrazia, Amy Baldwin, Eugenia Pontacq. Standing: Jacqueline Chaparro, Ana Sanchez, Professor Diana Friedland, Nicole DeLuca, Alexia Tussay, Alexandra Toney.

A Message from Former Top Federal Lawyer Former U.S. Solicitor General Drew S. Days 3d, who served as the Clinton Administration’s chief advocate before the Supreme Court, visited John Jay on October 30 to deliver a thoughtfully worded admonition that United States courts give serious consideration to taking cues from courts and case law in other countries.

@ John Jay is published by the Department of Institutional Advancement John Jay College of Criminal Justice 899 Tenth Avenue, New York, NY 10019 www.jjay.cuny.edu Editor Peter Dodenhoff Submissions should be faxed or e-mailed to: Office of Communications fax: (212) 237-8642 e-mail: pdodenhoff@jjay.cuny.edu

In a presentation sponsored by the Center for International Human Rights, Days pointed out that the subject of United States and international law has spawned a “road show” in which Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia and Stephen Breyer are traveling around the country debating the issue. “The question of what role foreign law should play in U.S. court rulings has very serious consequences,” said Days, who is now the Alfred M. Rankin Professor of Law at Yale Law School, where his areas of specialization include comparative constitutional law. “When will courts in the United States join the international constitutional conversation?” Days asked. “The U.S. is bringing up the rear in terms of the role of constitutional courts.” Canada might provide a constructive model,

Days noted, with the courts there having shown particular skill in balancing foreign precedents and their own national laws. “Canadian courts seem to have felt quite comfortable looking to other jurisdictions for guidance,” he said. Days conceded that looking at foreign precedents and case law does have its challenges, as American courts have to understand the political, social and cultural contexts from which such decisions emerged. According to Days, there is some basis for hope that the status quo may change. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, for one, has suggested that it is proper and helpful for U.S. courts to consider foreign rulings, and two recent Supreme Court rulings — dealing with the death penalty for juveniles and criminalizing private consensual sodomy — looked to foreign courts for guidance.

educating for justice

Drew S. Days 3d fields a question from the audience following his October 30 lecture.