ACLU Liberty Awards dinner honors Justice Center faculty and former director

The ACLU of Alaska Liberty Awards Dinner on January 22, 2011 honored 40 Alaskan individuals and organizations as "Heroes of Constitutional Rights," including John Havelock, the first Justice Center Director, and John McKay, Justice Center Adjunct Professor.

The ACLU Liberty Awards honor those individuals and organizations who have led the way in creating a state that honors and protects personal freedom, individual liberty, and constitutional and civil rights.

Dr. Myrstol interviewed by Northern Light about police in schools

Dr. Brad Myrstol, Justice faculty, was interviewed by The Northern Light, the UAA student newspaper, about his recent Alaska Justice Forum article, "Police in Schools: Public Perceptions."

The January 19, 2011 Northern Light article looks at Dr. Myrstol's discussion of the use of law enforcement officers assigned to schools - School Resource Officers (SROs). Dr. Myrstol provides an overview of the Anchorage SRO program and examines data from the 2009 Anchorage Community survey about SROs. In looking at the survey data, he found that the majority of Anchorage adults are aware of and have an overall positive view of local SROs.

Justice Club meets Friday, Feb 4, 1:00 p.m.

The Justice Club will meet on Friday, February 4, 2011 at 1:00 p.m. in the Consortium Library Building, Room 207B.

Dr. Rosay named one of Alaska's "Top 40 under 40"

Dr. André Rosay, Justice Center Director, has been named one of Alaska's "Top 40 Under 40."

Alaska's "Top 40 Under 40" is a program created in 1998 by the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce and the Alaska Journal of Commerce to recognize the state's top professionals younger than age 40 who have demonstrated professional excellence and a commitment to their community.

Monica Kane, UAA Assistant Provost, and Dr. Robert Capuzzo, UAA College of Education, have also been named to the "Top 40" list.

Mat-Su Borough 2010 Community Survey released

The Justice Center has released the most recent publication from its Community Indicators Project:

• The Matanuska-Susitna Borough Community Survey 2010 and Trends 2006–2010: A Sourcebook of Community Attitudes by Sharon Chamard

The Matanuska-Susitna Borough Community Survey, conducted annually beginning in 2006, is a cooperative research effort between the Justice Center and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough to collect information about satisfaction with Borough services, household aspirations, and household composition. These data will be used by Borough decision-makers to prioritize projects, improve services, and better plan for the future growth of the Mat-Su Borough.

The survey asks Mat-Su Borough residents to evaluate the quality of Borough services, provide opinions about Borough decision-making, and sum up their perceptions about a range of issues relevant to the present and future of the Mat-Su community. The 2010 survey was distributed to 2,088 adult heads-of-household in the Mat-Su Borough in the late summer and fall of 2010; a total of 922 surveys were returned, for a response rate of 45.9%.

This sourcebook presents both the results from the 2010 survey and trends from 2006–2010 in five major areas: (1) evaluation of current borough services; (2) use of borough facilities; (3) life in Mat-Su neighborhoods; (4) local government access, policies, and practices; and (5) respondent background information. Additionally, findings from a derived importance-performance analysis of the survey data are presented, as is a compilation of respondent comments.

See the Justice Center's Community surveys bibliography for a complete list of Justice Center reports and articles from various community surveys, including the Mat-Su Community Survey.

Congrats to Justice and Paralegal majors named to Fall 2010 honors lists!

Chancellor's List Fall 2010
Justice Majors
Eichholz,Kayla Dawn
Hill,Melissa Ann
Kadriu,Luljeta O
Kaufman,Ezekiel J
Presser,Matthew Paul
Ruebelmann,Jacob A
Waldorf,Kelsey C
Wilkinson, Isabell K.

Paralegal Majors
Eichholz,Kayla Dawn
Forshee,Amber Carmel
Rogers,Anastasia

Dean's List Fall 2010
Justice Majors
Armstrong, Bethany Ann
Batch, Michael J
Bellamy, Mariah Moanaliha
Bowen, Seth Camden
Churchill, Pearl Margaret
Dighton, Matthew Reed
Eichrodt, Sean T.
Hall, Lakedria Lanee
Hartley, Rebecca H
Herrin, Sarah LeAnne
Holmes, Jeremy Douglas
Kisarauskas, Yevgenii V
MacAlpine, Heather
Martin, Jonathan P
May, Leonee D
Mayfield, Joseph Darrel
Morley, Ashley Brooke
Morthorpe, Charlotte K
Pierre, Laura Beth
Raidmae, Spencer Donovan
Rogers, Terry A
Rooks, Vanessa Elizabeth
Smith, Andrew James
Tanner, Stacy Lynne
Walker, Jeanene

Paralegal Majors
Armstrong, Bethany Ann
Bish, Alyssa Marie
Walker, Jeanene

Requirements for Honors List To be named to the Chancellor's List, a student must be an admitted undergraduate degree/certificate-seeking student enrolled in at least 12 UAA credits graded with academic letter grades and must have earned a GPA of 4.00 for the semester. To be named to the Dean's List, a student must be an admitted undergraduate degree/certificate-seeking student enrolled in at least 12 UAA credits graded with academic letter grades and must have earned a GPA of at least 3.50 for the semester.

Alaska Victimization Survey data on violence against women presented to Alaska Senate committees

Dr. André Rosay, Justice Center Director, and Lauree Morton, Interim Executive Director, Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, presented data from the 2010 Alaska Victimization Survey to a joint meeting of the Alaska Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate Health and Social Services Committee on Monday, January 24, 2011. Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee are Senators Hollis French (Chair), Bill Wielechowski (Vice-Chair), Joe Paskvan, Lesil McGuire, and John Coghill. Members of the Senate Health & Social Services Committee are Senators Bettye Davis (Chair), Dennis Egan, Johnny Ellis, Kevin Meyer, and Fred Dyson.

The statewide Alaska Victimization Survey was conducted in 2010 and was modeled upon the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Surveillance System (NISVSS) developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in collaboration with the National Institute of Justice and the U.S. Department of Defense.  It provides the first definitive measures of the incidence and prevalence of violence against women in Alaska.  FY11 Alaska Victimization surveys in Anchorage, Fairbanks, and rural Alaska are currently in progress.

The January 24 presentation addressed study methodology, limitations, findings, and questions posed by legislators present at the meeting. The Powerpoint presentation to the joint committee meeting can be viewed at the UAA Justice Center website. Video of the full presentation before the joint meeting is available online from Gavel to Gavel Alaska, a statewide television service of KTOO-TV, Juneau’s public TV station.

The presentation and results of the survey were widely reported in the media:

• "Alaska's women suffer 'astonishingly high' rates of abuse" by Jill Burke, Alaska Dispatch, January 24, 2011.
• "Poll aims to get baseline data for Alaska domestic violence — 'ALARMING': Officials in Alaska may learn if efforts to curb the problem work" by Becky Bohrer (Associated Press), Anchorage Daily News, January 25, 2011.  (Also published in the Juneau Empire and the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.)
• "Our view: Stunning numbers — Victimization survey quantifies a brutal Alaska reality," Anchorage Daily News (editorial), January 24, 2011.
• "Report: Rape, sexual assault often go unreported in Alaska" by Ted Land, KTUU Channel 2 News, January 24, 2011.
• "Alaska sexual violence far worse than reported: study" by Yereth Rosen, Reuters, January 24, 2011.
• "UAA Justice Center Survey Highlights Violence Against Women in Alaska" by Daysha Eaton. (KDLG 670-AM/89.9-FM Public Radio for Southwest Alaska, 4 Feb 2011). [No longer available online.]

See the UAA Justice Center website for further information on the Alaska Victimization Survey and on other Justice Center research on violence against women.

Research Overview: Stalking victimization

Stalking victimization is the topic of the most recent Justice Center Research Overview.

"Stalking Victimization: Comparisons Between Alaska and U.S. Data" by Khristy Parker presents information on stalking victimization currently available for Alaska and notes contrasts and similarities with the U.S. national data on stalking, looking in particular at gender, age, race, and relationship between victims and offenders. Limitations on the comparability of Alaska and national data are noted.

See also the Justice Center website for related publications on stalking and victims of crime.

Justice Center invited to participate in conference on Alaska's Health University

The Justice Center has been invited by Provost Mike Driscoll to participate in the Health Conference set for January 28, 2011. The conference will focus on the reorganization of health programs at UAA.

Members of the Justice Center will serve on the Faculty: Research and Professional Practice team, the Faculty: Curriculum and Professional Practice team, and the Faculty and Staff: Student Success team. The Justice Center is part of the College of Health and Social Welfare.

Dr. Rosay presents to the Alaska Senate Judiciary and the Senate Health and Social Services Committees

Dr. André Rosay, Justice Center Director, has been invited to present data from the 2010 Alaska Victimization Survey to a joint meeting of the Alaska Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate Health and Social Services Committee on Monday, January 24, 2011 at 1:30 p.m. in Butrovich 205, the Capitol Building, Juneau. Lauree Morton, Interim Executive Director, Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault will be be co-presenting with Dr. Rosay.

This presentation will be available via webstreaming. Go to www.alaskalegislature.tv. To be hooked in telephonically, call 1-877-763-5073.

Members of the Senate Judiciary Standing Committee are Senators French (Chair), Wielechowski (Vice-Chair), Paskvan, McGuire, and Coghill. Members of the Senate Health & Social Services Standing Committee are Senators Davis (Chair), Egan, Ellis, Meyer, and Dyson.

"Like" the Justice Center on Facebook!

The Justice Center launched its Facebook page today and invites you to visit us!

Former Justice Center director and faculty honored by MSU School of Criminal Justice

Dr. Knowlton Johnson (left) and Dr. John Angell

Dr. John Angell, first dean of the UAA School of Justice (now the UAA Justice Center) and past director of the Justice Center, and Dr. Steven M. Edwards, former faculty member of the UAA School of Justice, were inducted into the Wall of Fame of the Michigan State University School of Criminal Justice.

Plaques were presented to the honorees at an awards banquet on November 5, 2010. The Wall of Fame honors the “best of the best” in the field of Criminal Justice.

Dr. Angell and Dr. Edwards were among the honorees interviewed for the event; video of the interviews can be seen on the MSU School of Criminal Justice homepage. Dr. Knowlton Johnson, also a former faculty member of the UAA School of Justice, was a 2009 Wall of Fame inductee.

Dr. Angell is currently serving on a Data Safety and Monitoring Board for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The board is overseeing an NIH multi-year research effort related to substance abuse by Alaskan young people, especially in rural communities. His colleagues on the board include Dr. Kathy Graves, Director of Behavioral Health for the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium and Dr. Brian Saylor of the UAA Public Administration Department.

Dr. Steven M. Edwards with his Wall of Fame plaque.
A plaque was presented to each honoree

Dr. Edwards is now a Senior Policy Advisor in the Office of Policy Development for the Bureau of Justice (BJA) where he focuses on criminal justice policy training and technical assistance for law enforcement and public safety agencies.

The MSU School of Criminal Justice Wall of Fame Award is presented annually to a select group of alumni who have distinguished themselves by attaining the highest level of professional accomplishment while demonstrating strong personal integrity and character. The standards are extremely high and attract an impressive group of alumni nominations. The Wall of Fame has honored 52 alums since its inception in 2000, representing the "best of the best" in multiple disciplines in the field of Criminal Justice. The MSU School of Justice is the nation's oldest degree-granting criminal justice program.

Photos by Dr. Chris Smith, MSU School of Criminal Justice. Used with permission.

Dr. Rosay receives $517,000 grant from Alaska Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault

Dr. André Rosay, Director of the Justice Center, recently received a $517,000 grant from the Alaska Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault to conduct victimization surveys in Anchorage, Fairbanks, and rural Alaska. Dr. Rosay is the principal investigator under this grant.

These surveys will be based on the 2010 Alaska Victimization Survey, the first done in our state, and which provided reliable estimates of physical and sexual violence in Alaska. Estimates from the 2010 survey show that over half (57%) of adult women in the state of Alaska have experienced intimate partner or sexual violence in their lifetime, and that 12% have experienced this type of violence in the past year.

Results from these surveys will be used to inform the Governor's Initiative to end the epidemic of domestic violence and sexual assault in Alaska. Dr. Rosay recently completed a contract from the Office of the Governor to provide research services for the Initiative. He is a member of the Governor's Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Initiative Workgroup.

Alaska Justice Forum article cited in KTUU Channel 2 report on homeless camp raids suit

Data from "A Look at Homelessness in Alaska," an article from the Summer 2009 Alaska Justice Forum, was cited by KTUU Channel 2 in their report, "Judge sides with ACLU in homeless camp raids suit," which aired January 5, 2011.

Tuition waivers for Spring 2011 semester

A limited number of Justice Center tuition waivers for the Spring 2011 semester are being offered. Completed application forms must be delivered to the Justice Center office, Consortium Library Room 213, by 5:00 p.m., Thursday, January 13, 2011. No faxes or e-mails are accepted.

If you have any questions, please contact Tuyet Tran, Administrative Secretary, at 786-1810 or tttran4@uaa.alaska.edu.

Dr. Rosay chairs Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences conference committee

Dr. André Rosay of the Justice Center is chairing the "Juvenile Corrections (Institution or Community)" program committee for the March 2012 annual meeting of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS) in New York City.

The Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences is an international association established in 1963 to foster professional and scholarly activities in the field of criminal justice. ACJS promotes criminal justice education, research, and policy analysis within the discipline of criminal justice for both educators and practitioners.