Mansfield University Home PageZach Perchinski Wins 3rd Boxing Match
Zach Perchinski, a senior criminal justice major from Williamsport, scheduled to graduate in May, won his third consecutive boxing match on February 27th at the Lock Haven Invitational, in front of several thousand paid spectators. Earlier wins in his 195 pound weight class came at the January 30th Shippensburg Red Raider Invitational, and again at the February 13th Mansfield University Boxing Invitational. Zach next competes at the University of Maryland on March 6th and again at the Eastern Regional Boxing Tournament, which qualifies boxers for the National Collegiate Boxing Association’s national championships, to be held at West Point.
Mansfield competes within the Eastern Collegiate Boxing Association, one of the three sub-divisions of the National Collegiate Boxing Association, which falls under the auspices of USA Boxing.
Zach, a soft-spoken, quiet and unassuming student, is president of the Mansfield Chapter of Lambda Alpha Epsilon, the American Criminal Justice Association (a national professional fraternity for criminal justice students) and a member of Alpha Phi Sigma National Honor Society in Criminal Justice.
Danielle Kleckner chosen as "2009-2010 Outstanding Senior in Criminal Justice"; Rachel Boyll Nominated as an 2009-2010 "At-Large" Nominee
Danielle Kleckner, a senior with a 4.00 GPA, is the Department of Criminal Justice’s nominee for Mansfield’s "Outstanding Senior Award." Danielle was last year’s "Outstanding Junior in Criminal Justice."
Danielle interned with the PA Attorney General’s Office last summer in State College, in their Bureau of Narcotics Investigation. There she assisted in the surveillance of controlled buys of narcotics with confidential informants, prepared for and attended trials and preliminary hearings of defendants, and assisted on scheduled narcotics raids. At Mansfield, Danielle is a member of the Criminal Justice Club and is a founding member of Alpha Phi Sigma National Honor Society in Criminal Justice.
Danielle is graduating this May after just spending three years at Mansfield. After graduation, Danielle will pursue her M.A. in Criminal Justice at Penn State University.
Rachel Boyll is also being nominated as an "At-Large" nominee by Dr. Thornsley. Rachel has spent the last six years at Mansfield and is graduating in May with a duel major in both Forensics and Criminal Justice. She also has been the department’s student worker for six years. Rachel is from San Diego, California, and is awaiting word as to where she will be attending graduate school for forensics – hopefully either at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Penn State, or at the University of California at Davis.
National Honor Society in Criminal Justice Accepting Applications
Mansfield’s Lambda Zeta Chapter of Alpha Phi Sigma, The National Honor Society in Criminal Justice, is now accepting applications for membership until Friday March 5th. Students who have completed 40 credits, with a 3.2 overall GPA and a 3.2 in all criminal justice courses, are eligible to apply. Applications can be found in the plastic holder to the right of Room #210 in Pinecrest Manor. Cost is a onetime fee of $50 for the national membership and $5 for Mansfield’s chapter.
Submit your completed application and $55 check (payable to Scott Thornsley) to Dr. Thornsley in Room #217 Pinecrest.
There are no rushing or pledging obligations. None.
Prison Tour at the U.S. Penitentiary at Allenwood Set
Mansfield’s Department of Criminal Justice 2009-2010 Prison Tour Series has been given permission to tour the U.S. Penitentiary at Allewnood, a high security penitentiary within the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
The tour is set for Friday, April 16th, starting at 1:00 p.m. Interested students must sign-up for the tour with Dr. Thornsley personally, in his office. He is only able to take 14 students. Selection will be by random drawing. A dress code will be strictly enforced. Students will have to undergo an NCIC security check. Any security application missing information will not be considered. Please see Dr. Thornsley by Monday, February 15th.
Dean Van Bibber Named the "Outstanding MU CJ Alumni for Academic Year 2009-2010.
Dean Van Bibber, a professor of Criminal Justice and Homeland Security at Piedmont Technical & Community College and Fairmont State College, has been named the Outstanding Mansfield University Criminal Justice Alumni for the Academic Year 2009-2010. Van Bibber received his B.A. in Criminal Justice Administration from Mansfield State College in 1976 and a M.S. in Criminal Justice from Villanova Univeristy.
Van Bibber has been teaching at Piedmont Community & Technical College and Fairmont State College in West Virginia since 1994. Prior to his current teaching position he has been a police officer (1978-1984) and chief of police (1984-1988) at the West Hempfield Police Department (Lancaster County, PA), a private security consultant and university educator. He is also currently a certified police instructor for both West Virginia and Pennsylvania.
Van Bibber has been awarded citations from both the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and the Pennsylvania State Senate for "Police Accomplishments" and received a "Silver Star for Bravery" from the Police Hall of Fame, located in Miami, Florida.
However, it is his devotion to Mansfield University's Criminal Justice Department that prompts this award. Van Bibber has been a guest speaker at Mansfield four times since 2000, has been the lead instructor for Mansfield's "Latent Prints to Gifted Children" program in 2003 and MU's "CSI Camp" in November 2004, as well as bringing countless criminal justice students from Fairmont State College to hear Roy Hazelwood while he appeared here in 2005, 2006 and 2007.
Dean Van Bibber's career in criminal justice has spanned three decades as both a practitioner and educator, something that few Mansfield University criminal justice alumni can lay claim to.
Important News for Students Contemplating Internships!
Effective immediately, the PA State System of Higher Education is requiring all PASSHE universities to incorporate an “Internship Agreement” as an additional requirement. This new requirement is explained in detail under the “Internships” link.
Train Prison Inmates in Literacy, Math, and Computer Skills
The Tioga County Prison, located just minutes away off of Route 6 to Wellsboro, is seeking Mansfield University student volunteers to provide educational services and computer training to their inmates. Students will work one-on-one and in groups teaching inmates such skills as literacy, basic math, and computer skills. Other subjects may be considered.
If you’ve got a special interest, chances are it can be taught. A rare chance to journey inside a prison and help others out at the same time. Applicants should be at least 18 years of age.
If interested, please contact Dr. Robert Clark, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, 207 Pinecrest Manor, at rlclark@mansfield.edu.
Ocean City Police Recruiters to Visit MU
Recruiters from Ocean City Police Department, (Ocean City, Maryland) will be coming to MU on Thursday, November 19th to speak to students interested in either interning at Ocean City next summer, or just plain working there. Any MU student can attend any of the four presentations:
- 10:00 – 11:15a.m. Room G-2 Retan Center
- 11:30 – 12:45 p.m. Room G-2 Retan Center
- 2:30 – 3:45 p.m. Room 156, Grant Science
- 4:00 – 5:15 p.m. Room 156, Grant Science
Testing dates for interested candidates are November 21 & 22; January 9 & 10; and February 20 & 21. The serious applicant will test in November, as last year later testing dates were closed. OCPD has a housing agreement with the Stowaway Grand Hotel, for just $49 a night. The code for November is OCPD1; OCPD2 for January; and OCPD3 for February.
The OCPD Seasonal Academy is 4 weeks long and with 190 hours devoted to criminal and traffic law, firearms, handling emergency and non-emergency calls, emergency driving, defensive tactics, and many practical-based scenarios.
To qualify for the OCPD seasonal program, officer candidates must be 21 years of age at the conclusion of the training academy. They run two academies, one starting in mid-April and the other in early may.
Seasonal officers will be paid $13.26 per hour in the academy, and $13.59 once they graduate.
Public Service Safety Aides (who help with booking prisoners, working in administrative positions and parking enforcement) have to be 17.5 years of age and are paid $11.25 per hour.
Mansfield students who have worked for the OCPD seasonal program describe it as fantastic, and OCPD officers say they acquire more police action than most police departments do in five years.
When other PASSHE criminal justice departments get just one of their criminal justice majors accepted into the program, they put out a press release. Last year MU had seven CJ majors work at Ocean City – Kevin Brown, Evan Buschbascher, Daniel Bush, Richard Harbaugh, Leon lacey, Matt Moroski and Shannon O’Neil. Said one OCPD recruiter "We always get good employees from your school which is why we want to return again next year."
Federal Bureau of Prisons Recruiters Come to Mansfield
On Thursday, November 12th, 2009, two recruiters from the Federal Bureau of Prisons will be speaking to two of Dr. Thornsley’s Criminal Justice classes :
- his 10:00 -11:15 a.m. class
- his 11:30 – 12:45 p.m. class
All CJ students are welcome to attend. Both classes are held in Room G-2 of Retan Center. Please don’t miss this opportunity.
Lambda Alpha Epsilon Initiates 13 New Members
Members of Lambda Alpha Epsilon (LAE), the American Criminal Justice Association for criminal justice students, initiated 13 new members into its professional fraternity in October 2009. With its new members, it becomes one of the largest organizations on campus. It is the largest criminal justice organization on campus, and its focus is to promote off-campus activities which would be of interest to criminal justice majors.
LAE members regularly go on trips, and during the past several years this national professional fraternity has visited Niagara Falls, Washington, D.C., the FBI Academy in Quantico, VA, among other places. In April 2010 LAE will co-sponsor one of the nation’s most recognizable wrongfully convicted individuals – Ray Krone, now living in York, PA., to speak at Mansfield on Monday, April 5th. Krone spent 10 years in the Arizona state prison system (including 3 years on death row) before being exonerated. Krone is the subject of Bill Moyer’s 2004 book The Death Penalty on Trial: Crisis in American Justice.
Mansfield University Criminal Justice Department to Host Used Book Drive
Mansfield University’s Department of Criminal Justice is orchestrating a used book drive this fall to benefit the Tioga County Prison, located in Wellsboro, just 15 minutes west of Mansfield. During a prior tour of the Tioga County Prison on Wednesday, October 14th, it was learned that the prison was "in desperate need" of gently used book and recent magazines.
Please drop off any used books at the Criminal Justice Seminar Room, 210 Pinecrest Manor, between 8:00 a.m. and 3:45 p.m., or call Dr. Scott Thornsley, department chair, at 570-662-4485 for further information.
Upcoming Speakers Slate Set for Judicial Criminal Process Class
Ms. Nancy Clemens, instructor for the Department’s course entitled Judicial Criminal Process, has announced her upcoming slate of speakers for her Fall 2009 semester. All CJ majors are welcome to attend any presentations, even if you are not a member of the class. (Hint: Dr. Thornsley will even be attending the presentations.) The presentations will be held in Room #G-7 Retan Center, starting at 6:30 p.m.
October 13th – The Honorable Robert E. Dalton, Jr., President, Tioga County Court of Common Pleas
October 27th – Mr. George Wheeler, Esq., Tioga County District Attorney
November 3rd – Mr. Jeffrey Loomis, Esq., (Of Van Der Hiel, Chappell & Loomis PC), Private Criminal Attorney
November 24th – Officer Robert L. Repard, Supervisor, Tioga County Adult Probation. (Mr. Repard will be accompanied by a criminal defendant [a drug and/or alcohol multiple offender] who has been placed in Tioga County’s Treatment based Restrictive Intermediate Punishment Program, (TRIP), which is a diversionary program.
PA Municipal Police Training Program (Act 120) to be Discussed
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The overview will be held:
For further information on Mansfield University’s Act 120 program, please click on http://cll.mansfield.edu/law-enforcement-programs/municipal-police-training-act-120/ |
All students are welcome to attend the Tuesday, November 3rd overview of the PA Municipal Police Training Program (i.e. Act 120) discussed by Ms. Barbara Butcher, Director of the Law Enforcement & Certification Program at Mansfield University.
Room G-2 of Retan HallInternship Opportunity for Students Interested in a 1 Credit Internship or Just a Work Experience
Posted: October 9 2009
If you are interested in a related, and paid, work experience right now, or for a 1 credit internship next semester, I have something that may interest you. Family Service Society, Inc., (FSS) of Bath, New York, is interested in acquiring a criminal justice major who is interested in working with their Domestic Violence Program for Men, whose male clients have battered or are domestically violent. It is an accountability group, not a counseling session. The men are court-ordered to attend these weekly meetings, from 5:30 p.m. to 6:45 p.m. , but the FSS would like to have students there from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. The male clients are manipulative and manipulation is their forte.
The group session would be overseen by an adult counselor. Sessions would be held at 6666 Country Road 11, in Bath, New York, 14810. MapQuest directions to see if it is a workable commute for you. The pay is $50 per 4 hour session. FSS is looking for a confident, male or female CJ major.
If interested, please email Ms. Candice Cleveland, Director, Choice Program, at Clevelandc@familyServiceSociety.org. Ms. Cleveland lives in Mansfield, PA so she can see you here if you have an interest in this position. Or you may see Dr. Thornsley.
Tioga County Prison Tour Wednesday, October 14th @ 10:00 a.m.
A tour is scheduled for the Tioga County Prison for Wednesday, October 14th, at 10:00 a.m. The tour will last approximately 45 minutes to one hour. Students need to be at the prison by 9:45 a.m. Sorry, but no transportation can be arranged.
The Tioga County Prison is located at 1768 Shumway Hill Road, on your left, going towards Wellsboro, just past Weis Markets. It will take approximately 15 minutes to get there from Mansfield. Students should sign up on Dr. Thornsley’s door at 217 Pinecrest. The tour can take 20 students. If there is enough interest, a second tour later on can be arranged.
The prison houses approximately 140 inmates.
Students must adhere to the new Department of Criminal Justice dress code for prison tours. The dress code is found on Dr. Thornsley’s door, and on the Criminal Justice Seminar Room door, at Room #210 Pinecrest Manor. Students should also Google/Web “Tioga County Prison” for information about parking, possible searches, and other information.
Students may also contact Dr. Thornsley if they have any questions.
PA State Representatives Kenyatta J. Johnson & Tim Seip Named Outstanding Alumni in Criminal Justice for Academic Year 2008-2009
Recently Pennsylvania State Representatives Kenyatta J. Johnson (D-186th District) & Tim Seip (D-125th District) were named Outstanding Alumni in Criminal Justice for the Academic Year 2008-2009. This was the first time that Mansfield’s Department of Criminal Justice Administration has made such awards to its criminal justice alumni. Representative Johnson was recently sworn into the PA House of Representatives in January 2009 for the first time, while Rep. Seip has been a member of the House since 2007.
On May 4, 2009 Rep. Johnson introduced House Bill #1414 which seeks to create the Pennsylvania Criminal Justice Commission which seeks to review the Commonwealth’s entire criminal justice system within an 18 month period. Both Reps. Johnson and Seip received a certificate and a letter of appreciation.
