25 students received their B.S. in Criminal Justice Administration and 7 students received their A.S. degree in CJA on December 13th. 
Top, left to right: Ryan Richie, Taylor Eck & Craig Gilligan; Bottom: Gretchen Meyers, Angela Benjamin & Marissa Fronczkiewicz take time out for a quick pose before the start of the ceremony.

“Samantha Harris Smiles Because She Knows She is Almost Through!”

Samantha Harris pauses to take a brief moment off before heading into graduation.

The Murder Room: The Heirs of Sherlock Holmes Gather to Solve the World's Most Perplexing Cold Cases, due out 12/26/08, chronicles Richard Walter (who is now known as “the living Sherlock Holmes”) and his efforts in forming the Vidocq Society. "Acclaimed bestselling author Michael Capuzzo’s brilliant storytelling brings true crime to life more realistically and vividly than it has ever been portrayed before."  (Amazon.com's Editorial Review)

Michael Capuzzo, the author, is a New York Times bestseller and Pulitzer Prize nominee, resides in Wellsboro, PA.

MU Criminal Justice Club to Tour Allenwood Penitentiary.

Mansfield’s Criminal Justice Club has been granted approval to tour the United States Penitentiary at Allenwood in early 2009. Allenwood is part of the Allenwood Federal Correctional Complex, located in Allenwood, PA. The U.S.P. at Allenwood is a high security facility housing male inmates. Students will be taking a tour of the penitentiary as well as meeting with inmates after the tour.

Corporal George Cronin, a ciminal investigative analyst (profiler) with the Pennsylvania State Police, will return to speak to Dr. Thornsley's class about Violent Criminal Behavior. Corporal Cronin recently received his PhD in criminology from Temple University.  His dissertation was entitled "Stuctural Determinants of Homocide in Rural Pennsylvania." Corporal Cronin was also recently inducted into the world famous Vidocq Society, an organization that meets monthly in Philadelphia to solve cold cases from around the world. (See next story on Vidocq Society)     Details TBA.

Mansfield’s Criminal Justice Club has been granted permission to tour the United States Penitentiary at Lewisburg in November. The Lewisburg Penitentiary, located just 75 minutes south of Mansfield in Lewisburg, PA, is a high security federal facility housing male inmates.

Dr. Katherine Ramsland, one of the nation's most prolific writers in the fields of serial and mass murder, forensic psychology, crime scene investigation, and forensic science, will be the 2008 North Hall Library Visiting Scholar.

Dr. Ramsland has most recently authored Beating the Devil’s Game: A History of Forensic Science and Criminal Investigation (2008), Inside the Minds of Healthcare Serial Killers: Why They Kill (2007), The CSI Effect (2006), Inside the Minds of Serial Killers (2006), Inside the Minds of Mass Murderers: Why They Kill (2005), The Human Predator (2005), The Science of Cold Case Files (2004), The Criminal Mind: A Writer’s Guide to Forensic Psychology (2002) and The Forensic Science of CSI (2001). Her latest book, and topic of the Monday evening free seminar in MU’s Planetarium, True Stories of CSI: The Real Crimes Behind the Best Episodes of the Popular TV Show, is due to be released September 2, 2008.

Dr. Ramsland just recently had a TV pilot accepted by CBS TV. The working title of the TV series is "The CRU" (Catastrophic Response Unit) pronounced as "The Crew." The series is being developed with former CSI series executive producer Josh Berman and bestselling writer James Patterson. 

Monday Sept. 29th - Dr. Ramsland will meet with Dr. Robarge’s 10:00 a.m. Judicial Criminal Process class in Room #307 Alumni Hall, to present the lecture, The CSI Effect, subject of her 2006 book with the same title. ALL criminal justice students are welcome and encouraged to attend this lecture.

From 12 Noon to 1:30 p.m. Dr. Ramsland will be attending a reception in her honor in the Larry Nesbitt Traditional Reading Room, found on the 1st floor of the North Hall Library. ALL criminal justice majors are welcomed and encouraged to attend.

From 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Dr. Ramsland will give a talk on Careers in Forensic Psychology in Alumni #307.

From 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., Dr. Ramsland will be presenting a lecture entitled True Stories of CSI: The Real Crimes Behind the Best Episodes of the Popular TV Show, and title of her most recently released book. The lecture is open to the MU student body and general public at Mansfield University’s Planetarium. Seating is limited, so please come early. A book signing will follow her presentation.

(Dr. Ramsland was nominated earlier this year as a candidate for the 2008 North Hall Library Visiting Scholar honor by Dr. Thornsley.)

Anthony Michael Green, an inmate wrongfully convicted of rape who spent 12 years in prison, spoke to 130 MU students.  He was exonerated by DNA evidence. The presentation was subsidized by The Innocence Project in New York City. Mr Green's appearance was orchestrated by MU Criminal Justice major and Honors student Justine Taylor.

Members of the Mansfield Criminal Justice Club and guest speaker Anthony Michael Green.

Roy Hazelwood, retired FBI profiler and author of Dark Dreams and The Evil That Men Do, appeared for a third consecutive year to deliver a sold-out day long seminar on violent criminal behavior.

Mr Hazelwood is currently the senior vice president for The Academy Group, Inc.

Students in Dr. Thornsley's Serial Murder class (as well as other interested students) had the opportunity to hear from Richard Walter, a well-known profiler. Mr Walter is also the founder of the world-wide Vidocq Society, an organization that meets monthly in Philadelphia to solve cold cases from around the world.

Dr. Thornsley's students from Mansfield University and Nipissing University (in Canada) traveled to Fairfax, Virginia to hear former FBI profiler Robert Ressler and Roy Hazelwood speak at a day long seminar entitled "Through the Eyes of a Profiler."

Mansfield & Nipissing students pose with Roy Hazelwood in Fairfax Virginia.