I'm Don Shelton.
I'm the Director of the Criminology and Criminal
Justice program here at the University.
I've been here a few years now. I was for 25 years before that a Circuit Judge in Ann Arbor.
My name is Helena Henderson and my major is Criminal Justice.
My name is Dan Rodriguez and I'm the Assistant Chief of Police in the city of Farmington Hills Police Department.
I am currently in the Graduate program here at the University of Michigan in the Criminal Justice and Criminology.
My name is Michelle Lishin and I study Criminology and Criminal Justice
both as an undergraduate student and as a graduate student.
Criminology and criminal justice today is no longer just being a beaten cop.
Criminology and criminal justice is about educated law enforcement and public safety professionals in our society.
Probably no issue is more important in our society right now than criminal justice
and how our law enforcement and public safety professionals interact with private citizens.
We think education is the key to that.
That has made our program here at the University one of the fastest growing programs throughout the University.
We also have a Master's Degree program because graduate degrees are the key
to getting a policy position in public safety.
As part of our Master's program we have developed a system
where students can come in and get their Bachelor's Degree and then spend the last year
of that Bachelor's Degree working towards their Master's Degree.
We call that a 4+1 program because in 5 years you can complete not only
the Undergraduate but also the Master's degree program in Criminology and Criminal Justice.
The program to me has been enlightening.
I think when you look at the type of courses that you take as a graduate student
you'll find that a lot of what we deal with is, as a Police Executive, are topics
that you will deal with here in your studies.
The professors are fantastic because they come from all different walks of life
and different backgrounds in the types of things that they teach.
So, for me, when I'm dealing with the community or different issues in my police department
I have a lot of different people that I can now go to
and that's the one thing I have learned most is that networking.
What it has taught me as a police executive is to think outside the box
and to look at different resources, just like you would in your community.
I was really motivated to pursue a Master's Degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice
because of the work I was doing in my personal life with a non-profit organization.
 
I personally work with re-entering citizens. Those who have spent time in jail or prison.
I've found that in pursuing a Master's Degree, I can not only understand better
how and why people act the way that they do or how and why the system is the way it is.
 
I can also the information that I was gaining in the Master's program
to help those women in the non-profit that I work for outside of school.
I have longed for wanting to help people and save people
and I definitely felt as though the criminal justice field would allow me to do that.
To be bigger and better than myself.
For me, as a graduate student, when I'm looking at topics and this is the best part of the program,
I have professors who tell me when you're doing a research paper for me or any type of project,
keep in mind this is something you can bring back with you to your department.
In every single course that I have taken, I have brought something back to the Farminghton Hills Police Department.
Every single course that I have, I have been able to either bring back an idea,
implement a project, create new positions or recruit students from the University of Michigan-Dearborn.
The University of Michigan is committed to the importance of public safety in our society.
One of the ways that that's evidenced is that the University provides
a scholarship called the community service personnel scholarship
to law and public safety professionals. People who are already in the field to get their degrees
whether it be Undergraduate or Graduate. That scholarship means that those students get a 20% reduction
in tuition and fees for any program, Undergraduate or Graduate at the University of Michigan-Dearborn.
 
Why Michigan? Well, the reality is that a University of Michigan degree is important to your career.
There are over half a million University of Michigan alumni throughout the world.
Quite frankly, when you walk into an office and you say you have a degree with the block M on it,
it's a key to the networking that is important in your field.
It's certainly true with public safety and it's certainly true here at the University of Michigan.
