New Online Degree Program: Public Safety Leadership and Administration

You may know that the Department of Sociology, Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, and UMB's Carey School of Law have joined forces to create a new online degree program in Public Safety Leadership and Administration (PLA) (https://www.marylandpla.com/). Given the national attention paid to racism in the criminal justice system, it's hard to imagine a better time for a program like ours. In this announcement I want to 1) share a little information about the offerings and opportunities of the program; and 2) announce two upcoming virtual events hosted by the program. 

1. The PLA program actually offers three different degrees: a Graduate Certificate in Criminal Justice Administration (4 classes/12 credits), a Graduate Certificate in Leadership in Diverse Organizations (4 classes/12 credits), and a Professional Master's degree in Public Safety Leadership and Administration (10 classes/30 credits). Four classes will be offered this fall: Public Image Management and Policy Solutions, Making Sense of Criminal Justice Methods and Statistics, Ethics in Criminal Justice, and Constitutional Law and Public Safety. Note too that graduate certificates are "stackable," meaning they can be combined to count toward the master's degree, should you choose to go that route. Students do not need to be admitted to the program to take these classes, and graduate students should feel free to register for any course that suits their needs.

2. As I noted, the PLA program will be hosting two free online events. The first is a virtual Q and A Information Session to take place this Friday, July 10 from 12p to 1p. Register here for a Zoom link and/or phone number to connect. Please join us over your lunch break for this opportunity to talk directly with the people who helped develop the program.

Dr. Lester Andrist

Professor of Sociology at the University of Maryland

Director of the Master of Professional Studies in Public Safety Leadership and Administration at the University of Maryland

Dr. Laura Dugan

Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Maryland

Associate Chair of the Department of Criminiology and Criminal Justice  

 

Professor Michael Greenberger

Professor at law at the University of Maryland Carey School of Law,
Director of the Center for Health and Homeland Security

Dr. Rashawn Ray

David M. Rubenstein Fellow in Governance Studies at The Brookings Institution, Professor of Sociology at the University of Maryland

Executive Director of the Lab for Applied Social Science Research (LASSR)

The second free online event is titled Techno-Justice? The Perils of Relying on Technology to Overcome Racism in the Criminal Justice System and will take place on Friday, July 17 from 12p to 1p. Register here for a Zoom link and/or phone number to connect. Please join us to hear from Dr. Nicol Turner Lee, who is a senior fellow in Governance Studies, the director of the Center for Technology Innovation at the Brookings Institute.

I hope to see you at these events! In the meantime, stay safe. 

Kind regards,

Lester

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lester Andrist, Ph.D 

Program Director

Master of Professional Studies 

in Public Safety Leadership and Administration

(he/him/his)