Thank you for helping us build momentum. We’re grateful for your support of the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology.
Your gift to the Excellence Fund strengthens our academic programs, sparks bold new ideas, and opens doors for students, faculty, and staff to thrive. Thanks to your commitment, we’re not just moving forward, we’re gaining momentum. We’re advancing education, accelerating research, and enriching our community with purpose and energy.
Your belief in our mission keeps us going. You’re a vital part of the progress we’re making, and we’re excited to share a few highlights from the past year that reflect the impact of your support. There’s so much more ahead, and we look forward to keeping you connected to the incredible work you’re helping make possible.
With heartfelt appreciation,
GO COUGS!
Undergraduate Research
As a result of a generous donation during Giving Tuesday 2023, we were able to award a $200 scholarship to Cody Barnes, one of our undergraduate students, for his engagement in undergraduate research within the Complex Social Interactions Laboratory.
Alumni Relations
Thanks to the generosity of our donors, we were able to organize a reception for our alumni and friends of the Department during the March 2025 annual meeting of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences in Denver, CO. The event drew over 100 people who were attending the conference, and were thus able to network with our current students and faculty, be appraised of our on-going research, and celebrate WSU’s legacy of excellence.
Awards Ceremony
As we do every year, we were able to celebrate our undergraduate, graduate students, faculty, alumni, and staff achievements this year during our spring awards ceremony. Scholarships are made possible through the generous donations of alumni to our scholarship funds, and the reception is made possible through the generous participation of donors to our Excellence Fund. These monies allow us to celebrate and support our students and faculty, while honoring a selection of our wonderfully successful alumni in various positions within and beyond the state. This year, we hosted 50 or so people, and featured keynote speaker Francis Boateng, faculty member at the University of Mississippi and an alumnus of our PhD program.