It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to Rutgers University-Newark School of Criminal Justice. Some of you know the school well, having already completed part of your undergraduate degree at Rutgers-Newark; for others, like me, this will be our first semester. I am sure you are as excited as I am to embark on this journey. The events in 2020 have dramatically changed our lives and this is reflected in our curriculum. The COVID-19 pandemic and its civil and economic consequences have forced us to change how we deliver our classes; it has required us to create new avenues for teaching and learning and new ways of forging connections with you.  

The horrific killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, and so many others, have led us to revise many of our classes to include in-depth examinations of an array of issues including systematic racism, the police use of force, and various proposed criminal justice reforms including defunding the police, decarceration, bail-reform, and criminal record expungement. Understanding these complex issues requires a solid grounding in theories and research on offending, criminal and social justice, punishment, and other topics that our courses provide. Collectively, we are responsible for thinking about the current state of the criminal justice system, in all its complexities, and for reimagining it in ways that address its liabilities and shortcomings.

The ideas and information we present will sometimes resonate with what you know and believe, but at other times they will challenge what you believe to be true. Exposing you to new data and ways of thinking is central to higher education. Our classes will expand your knowledge and we know that, in turn, you will add to ours, sharing with us new ideas and points of view. Your School of Criminal Justice studies will inevitably change you, and we hope that these changes will, in turn, contribute to our continuous development as a school and community.  

Our mission is to provide learning opportunities that will help prepare you for careers, and more broadly, for a world in rapid flux. There is much work to be done, whether your focus is on our local communities, in Newark and its environs, other places in the United States, or other nations, there is much work to be done. It is exciting to be with you at the helm of these momentous changes. As part of the Rutgers-Newark School of Criminal Justice, I look forward to our collaborations toward building more equitable and just societies. 

Bill McCarthy, Ph.D.

Dean and Professor