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The department of Criminal Justice & Criminology at Lycoming College will host a talk by April Bernard, Ph.D., for its Strauser Lecture Series, 5:30 p.m., April 6, in room G-11 of the Heim Building on the Lycoming College Campus. Bernard’s talk will focus on transformative justice as a potential solution to the failed wars on crime and social exclusion. The event is free and open to the public.
The lecture is just one of several events that comprise Lycoming College’s annual Criminal Justice-Criminology Day, providing a chance for students to learn about graduate school opportunities, network with alumni in the field, and consider different viewpoints on issues that could impact their studies and career paths. The day will also see Bernard visit and speak with women at the State Correctional Institution at Muncy, 9:30am.
Bernard’s presentation, “Transformative Justice: Envisioning a Greater America,” will discuss the interdependency of structure, community and agency, as a framework for understanding the potential of transformative justice as a viable and emerging alternative to counterproductive punitive measures.
Having received her doctorate in human development and social policy from Northwestern University, Bernard is now the senior director of research and analysis at Safer Foundation, a leading reentry services provider in Chicago, and an adjunct professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago. In addition to having worked as a consultant for national and international organizations on criminal and juvenile justice system reform initiatives, she has published research in professional and peer reviewed journals, including Feminist Criminology and the Journal of the Institute of Justice and International Studies. Bernard is also the author of “Transforming Justice, Transforming Lives: Women’s Pathways to Desistance from Crime,” a timely analysis of how ten women with deep criminal histories turned their lives around through community support and engagement.
“Dr. Bernard’s insight into transformative justice and the war on crime will complement very well the studies of criminal justice students at Lycoming College,” said Kerry Richmond, associate professor of criminal justice at Lycoming College. “Her participation in the Strauser Lecture Series builds on what is already a distinguished list of speakers. We’re honored to have her here on campus.”
Each year the department of Criminal Justice & Criminology at Lycoming College invites a prominent figure within the fields of criminal justice and criminology to deliver a lecture on campus as part of the Strauser Lecture Series. The lectureship began in 2000 as a tribute to Larry Strauser, professor of criminal justice at Lycoming. Himself a 1959 graduate of Lycoming College, he returned to join the faculty after earning his Masters of Public Administration from University of Arizona and having amassed considerable criminal justice field experience. Strauser founded the interdisciplinary Criminal Justice Program in 1977 and then coordinated the program for nearly a quarter of a century until his death in 1999. His vision of broadly educating criminal justice students within the context of the liberal arts remains a cornerstone of Lycoming College’s approach today.