Local university receives grant to expand criminal justice program

WHIO Staff
·2 min read

Central State University received a large grant to expand one of its programs, according to a spokesperson from the university.

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The National Science Foundation awarded the university a $400,000 grant that will be used over the next three years.

The university’s goal is to support, improve, and expand its Criminal Justice program, the spokesperson said.

Part of the funds will be used to create a forensics studies minor as part of the program.

Assistant professor Genevieve Ritchie-Ewing spearheaded the grant application and will help guide the new minor development process.

“While CSU had a Criminal Justice program, there wasn’t really any forensics in the same area. The Chemistry program has a forensics science class, but it focuses on the chemistry side of things. I wanted to focus more on evidence collection and how that works, as well as some of what we’ll be able to do with the National Science Foundation grant to help us look at the social science of forensics.” Ritchie-Ewing said.

Ritchie-Ewing worked with three other faculty members to make sure all the boxes were checked off.

Those members are Virginia Paula Redman, Leanne Petry, and Suzanne Saleem.

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“The four of us Central State faculty members work really well together here because we all help to pull in different sides of the University,” Ritchie-Ewing said. “And with all of us together, we have here a fully interdisciplinary minor in Forensics Studies with these different classes from all over the school, in addition to the three new courses of forensic psychology, forensic anthropology, and forensic social work.”

Ritchie-Ewing is excited to start these new courses and give students a taste of what a real crime lab is like.

“A lot of our students are very excited about the forensic psychology and forensic social work components. If forensics is something they want to do, those courses haven’t been offered before, and there’s really nothing else right now they can take to prepare for them. So, this minor will give them a chance to do that,” Ritchie-Ewing said.