Message from the President
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Bruce A. Sokolove (aka "Coach)
Alumni Association President |
Greetings fellow CJ Spartans from an old-timer Geezer Cop who graduated from the final commencement with the School of Police Administration and Public Safety! This is an exciting time to be at the helm of your alumni association, and a real honor to have the leadership baton passed to my hands from my good friend Bill Wilson.
We have an incredibly focused and dedicated Alumni Board working very hard to assist the School of Criminal Justice to accomplish the goals noted in our Past President, Bill Wilson’s message. It is a tall order but we are making progress. Our Director, Ed McGarrell met with a small sub-group of the Alumni Board on February 23rd, 2008 to provide an update on several critical initiatives that I would like to expand upon.
Dedicated Facility for the School of Criminal Justice
There has been quite a buzz since the State of Michigan announced plans to move the Department of State Police to a new facility later next year in downtown Lansing, abandoning the magnificent facility on the west side of Harrison Road across from the campus. The MSP buildings are actually located on MSU property and would be a natural home for the School of Criminal Justice and the MSU Department of Public Safety.
The Alumni Board has long advocated for the consolidation of the nation’s oldest criminal justice degree granting program into a dedicated facility that would eliminate the virtual diaspora of faculty and programs across the Michigan State campus, well beyond the confines of the current portion of Baker Hall. Our Director, Ed McGarrell joined Public Safety Director, James Dunlap and MSU building engineers in a comprehensive walk-through of the site. The good news is that the space is adequate for everyone to stretch out in a more functional workspace. The more sobering news is that renovation of the building is pegged at $5 to $10 million dollars providing there are no serious issues with asbestos, major plumbing or electrical overhauls. Renovation of all of the on-site building could run a whopping $120 million. A full and final report is due from the MSU Building Engineering department any day now.
The MSU Development Office is recommending that a campaign strategy be initiated to identify possible funding sources. We desperately need your input on people, corporations and foundations that may be helpful in this effort. No recommendations and ideas will be overlooked! All of this translates into the MSU Campaign Office kicking into high gear with a strategic plan.
Establishing a Comprehensive Basic Police Training Curriculum within the School of Criminal Justice
The Sheriff of Leelanau County, Michigan and Board member, Mike Oltersdorf, enthusiastically moved on a proposal advanced during the October 2007 annual Board meeting to explore the feasibility of bringing Basic Police Training to the MSU campus. The MSU Department of Public Safety has been exploring this as well so it was logical that we join in preliminary discussions with the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards. Furthermore, the Alumni Board recognizes that the State of Michigan is hard pressed to maintain the current twenty-four basic police training programs. In typical outside-of-the-box thinking, the Board is advocating a National Police Training Program initiative that would provide our law enforcement bound students with the ability to meet police officer and training board standards in all fifty states! This dream will be pursued with the International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Training in the upcoming months.
Proposed Expansion for the Wall of Fame Ceremony
Last October’s Alumni Board meeting discussed enhancement of the Wall of Fame ceremony. This change under consideration of the SCJ faculty includes the awarding of a Service Award to a non-graduate, non-faculty recipient and a Faculty Emeritus Award. The Director of the School will make nominations for the Service Award and the Faculty Emeritus Award will be submitted and voted on by the Alumni Board of Directors. The deadline for nomination will be June 30th of each year. Please visit our Wall of Fame page to nominate an individual for this years Distinguished Alumni Award. All nominations are due by June 30, 2008.
One final pleading: Please, please attend this classy ceremony on October 3rd this year! We will have you out in time for the Midnight Madness festivities over at the Breslin Center as the Women and Men’s Basketball teams launch their campaigns toward the 2009 March Madness of the NCAA Basketball Championships!
Wall of Remembrance
A very sobering void must be filled and we need your assistance to identify our graduates who were killed in the Line of Duty or during Combat Operations since World War II. I have asked our new Board member, Mike Thompson to spearhead this initiative. Mike has served as an Assistant Professor of Military Science at MSU. Please e-mail Mike Thompson with any information that will assist the Board in bringing recognition and honor to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice.
During the year, there is one real enjoyable benefit to my non-stop weeks as a bona fide Road Warrior traversing the United States providing law enforcement training and consulting — meeting our Board members in other states prior to our formal meetings. Bill Wilson and I meet for dinner and engaging conversation in the Chicagoland area on a regular basis. I will again be meeting shortly with Paul Sparks in our nation’s capital. These meetings always provide an opportunity to expand upon the myriad of projects that the Alumni Board has in the hopper. It is sheer enjoyment to work with alumni that have a sense of mission and purpose to advance our beloved Alma Mater and in particular, the School of Criminal Justice – the Nations Oldest and Best!
I hope you will e-mail me with your ideas, comments, suggestions – anything that you believe will assist the Board and the School of Criminal Justice during what has to be the most challenging budget constraints since 1935. Our Director Ed McGarrell, the faculty and staff are working under exceptionally severe constraints. They need and deserve our support and assistance!
Coach SokBruce A. Sokolove
Board President