Message from the Chair

Dear Alumni, Supporters, and Colleagues,

I am honored to be back as chair, after a year of professional leave. I am so thankful to my colleagues supporting me in this endeavor, and in particular to Dale Willits for stepping up in the role of interim chair. I have spent the fall semester getting reacquainted with the position, which has felt both very familiar and yet new at the same time. I suppose it is a good sign!

Let me start by sending warm congratulations to all our fall graduates! Erica Magaña obtained her PhD, and Laura Lindquist and Natalie Hallatt successfully passed their Master’s oral defenses. We graduated nine undergraduate criminal justice majors, and it was an honor to be with them that day (see picture on Graduate Spotlight). Please join me in wishing them much success as they join your ranks as alumni.

You, our alumni, never cease to inspire me. This year, John Wiess, Police Science ’50, in particular made a mark on the department, endowing a scholarship to support our students. I must say that I am beyond thankful to each and everyone of you who donate, however big or small. Since I became chair, I have seen the number of endowed funds nearly double, recognizing the names of more and more of you, and supporting more and more of our students, faculty, and staff. You all make our work possible.

The Complex Social Interactions Lab is one of those research endeavors which has greatly benefitted from the generosity of our donors, in particular Tim Schellberg. This year, the Lab has really come to be recognized for the work it has been doing over the past eight years, so much so that Governor Bob Ferguson came to visit in October. Associate Professor and CSI Lab Principal Investigator David Makin was able to give the governor a very informative presentation on the work of the Lab, and the governor was also able to speak with one of the lab’s graduate research assistants and one of the undergraduate student researchers. It was a wonderful opportunity to showcase the great work led by David and Co-PI Dale Willits.

A similar opportunity occurred when Washington State Representative Lowe (R-Lake Stevens) also came to visit the Lab in November. All of this work has been made possible over the years through institutional support, law enforcement agencies support, alumni support, and now a state fund appropriation, which has allowed us to hire a new Lab Coordinator Melissa Larson. Please join me in welcoming Melissa, who I know will help take the Lab to its next level of accomplishments and service to the public good.

As we enter into a new year and prepare for new opportunities and challenges, I want to once again recognize the crucial role you all play in making our work possible. We have much to look forward to in 2025, with some big news coming, and also opportunities to get together and celebrate, both at the annual meeting of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences in Denver in March, and our annual Awards Ceremony in Pullman on April 16!

Happy New Year!

Melanie

Chair, Associate Professor