“The State of Israel – from Vision to Reality”

Speaker: Statesman Ronnie Porat

Co-sponsored by: Departments of Criminal Justice, Political Science and Religious Studies

On February 8, 2012, Ronnie Porat visited The University of Alabama to discuss the development of Israel as a nation state over the past century. He addressed the challenges and opportunities the country has faced, and outlined both successes and failures on the way to recognized statehood. Some of the issues Porat touched on included Israel’s history, religious and military traditions and how these have impacted technological developments, humanitarian and religious efforts.

Ronnie Porat, Brian Kellert, Renee Sharon

Above: Statesman Ronnie Porat greets students Brian Kellert and Renee Sharon

Porat is the Jewish National Fund’s Israeli Emissary to Atlanta.  Prior to joining JNF, he served in the intelligence and operations branch of the Israeli Defense Forces, conducting research on Egyptian-Israeli military history.  He also has experience working for PR Israeli/Arab Business Consultants and Koor Peace Enterprises, Ltd., where he led business initiatives between Israel and Arab companies in Egypt, Jordan, and the Palestinian Authority.

Porat has worked for the Israeli Embassy in a variety of countries, including Finland, Norway, Egypt, and Jordan.  As consul and head of administration, he helped establish the Embassy of Israel in Amman and set up the first contacts for agricultural cooperation to cultivate the desert near the Israeli-Jordanian border.  As consul and head of administration for the Israeli Embassy in Cairo, Porat provided logistical support for all Israeli activities in Egypt, including the Oslo Process.  He also served as department head of the human resources division at the Ministry of Foreign affairs.

The Criminal Justice Student Association (CJSA) hosted a brownbag talk on Wednesday, December 7. The topic was Graduate School. The purpose of the brownbag was to provide undergraduates interested in attending graduate school with the following basic information:

1. The practical, financial, employment, and career benefits of earning an advanced degree (e.g., M.S. or Ph.D. in Criminal Justice, Criminology, Sociology, or a related field);

2. Descriptive information about earning a Master’s degree, including number of years it takes, number of courses, the level of rigor of academic work compared to undergraduate programs, thesis/non-thesis options, how much it costs, funding opportunities (e.g., assistantships) and the ability for most students who are accepted to attend for free;

3. The application and acceptance process, including eligibility, deadlines, what’s included in an application package, the importance of the GRE, your GPA, and recommendation letters; and

4. Information about the CJ Department’s Master’s of Science program in Criminal Justice.

Ms. Mary Jackson, a UA Graduate School Admissions Counselor, attended and provided information, handouts, and answered questions. Dr. Howell, CJSA Advisor and Graduate Faculty, provided information specific to the CJ graduate program and how to prepare for graduate school.

If you are potentially interested in graduate school, please contact Graduate Director Dr. Bronwen Lichtenstein, (205) 348-7782, blichten@bama.ua.edu .

On Thursday, November 17, 2011, Mrs. Tonya Spicer Hutto, undergraduate double majoring in criminal justice and political science, presented the findings of her year-long McNair Scholars research study at the annual meeting of the American Society of Criminology in Washington, DC. Her trip was funded by the UA McNair Scholars Program, UA’s Student Government Association’s Financial Affairs Committee, and the College of Arts and Sciences.

Tonya’s presentation, entitled, “Race Effects in the Adult Court Sentences of Waived Youth: A Replication and Extension,” was well-received. In fact, audience member Clara Dunn, Senior Policy Analyst in the Criminal Division of the Office of Policy and Legislation, U.S. Department of Justice, commended Tonya on her study and requested a copy of her paper for further review and consideration. Tonya’s paper, co-authored with her McNair Scholar Research Mentor Dr. Rebecca Howell, will appear in next year’s volume of the non-refereed journal, the University of Alabama McNair Scholar’s Journal. Currently, their paper is under review with Behavioral Sciences and the Law, a top-tier refereed journal in the discipline.

If you see Tonya in the department, please congratulate her on her hard work and outstanding representation of UA and the Department of Criminal Justice!

Tonya Spicer Hutto - presentation

On November 4, 2011, the department’s Criminal Justice Student Association (CJSA) sponsored presentations by two homicide investigators for interested students, alumni, and community members.

Who: Homicide Investigator Toby Banks from the Tuscaloosa Police Department and Homicide Investigator Jimmy Horner from the UA Police Department.

What: Both investigators spoke on the following issues: education and training background, scope of the units in which they work, crimes they cover, types of things they learned on the job that they did not learn in school, and any discernible trends in crime on campus and/or in Tuscaloosa in recent years.  A Q&A session followed.

Toby Banks & Jimmy Horner

Dr. Lankford was recently interviewed by CriminalJusticePrograms.com.

A few of his suggestions are provided below.  You can read the full interview here.

What advice do you have for someone interested in a counterterrorism career?

There are a lot of different job opportunities in the counterterrorism field: positions for analysts within the Intelligence Community, positions for Special Agents with the FBI, and positions for law enforcement officers, accountants, lawyers, linguists, and other types of employees throughout the country.

Students should choose the career path that fits their strengths by thinking about what they do best and how they want to spend their time. Do you get energized by sitting at a desk, digging through documents, and searching for clues, in order to build a case that will put a terrorist suspect behind bars? Can you spend hours reading, analyzing, and writing and still remain focused? Or do you prefer being on your feet, out in the field, as an intelligence operative either at home or abroad, building relationships with assets who can provide vital information, or going on missions to bring terrorists to justice.

What kind of educational background is needed for this career?

If you want to become an intelligence analyst or counterterrorism expert where your job relies on brainpower, you need to get a Master’s degree, at the very least. By having one, you distinguish yourself from many other college graduates, and frankly, it shows that you’re a serious student who is committed to professional success. There are many employers in the field who get bombarded by applications from new college graduates, and they basically disregard them unless you have a graduate degree.

But just having a Master’s degree is not a magic ticket. The quality of your graduate program and the quality of your professors makes a big difference as well…

Again, you can check out the full interview here.

We are pleased to welcome two new full-time instructors to the Department of Criminal Justice: Dr. Colin Farrell and Mr. Douglas Klutz.

Farrell received his Ph.D. in Medical Sociology from the University of Alabama, Birmingham, and will teach Introduction to Sociology, Statistics, and other courses in his area of expertise.  Klutz received his Master’s in Public Administration from the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, where he also studied Criminal Justice at the graduate level.  He will teach Introduction to Criminal Justice and serve as Internship and Advising Director.

Please welcome these new members of our team!

Dr. Colin Farrell

Mr. Douglas Klutz

Guiora

On Tuesday, August 30, 2011, Professor Amos N. Guiora gave a presentation on “International Counterterrorism and Interrogation Tactics” based on his research and his 19 years of experience with the Israeli Defense Forces.

The event was sponsored by The College of Arts and Sciences and the Departments of Criminal Justice and Political Science.  Students from all three academic units, along with many UA Law and History students and professors, combined to make the talk a resounding success.

Guiora spoke in an outstanding, freshly renovated new classroom, which was christened with its first guest presentation.  The room was filled to over-capacity, and after Guiora’s talk, he graciously stayed another 50 minutes answering questions.  A representative from the Israeli Consulate remarked that “it was the best audience and venue” that she has seen. Much thanks to the many University of Alabama students who supported this event!

Guiora-talk

Along with his service in the Israel Defense Forces as Lieutenant Colonel, Professor Guiora has held a number of senior command positions, including Commander of the IDF School of Military Law, Legal Advisor to the IDF Home Front Command, and Legal Advisor to the Gaza Strip.

He is currently Professor of Law at the S.J. Quinney College of Law with the University of Utah.  He is also a Member of the American Bar Association’s Law and National Security Advisory Committee, a Research Fellow at the International Institute on Counter-Terrorism in Herzylia, Israel, and a Corresponding Member of The Netherlands School of Human Rights Research at the University of Utrecht School of Law.

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