A Message From The Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology

June 5, 2020

We hope that all of you, your families, and friends are healthy and well, despite these trying times that have impacted us all.

By now, you have all heard of the senseless killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor. Their killings are the latest acts in a long history of racial oppression against people of color in this country. Not only are these acts unjust, tragic, and heartbreaking, they are also preventable. Their killings have shook the faculty, staff, and student body in our department.

All of us have a responsibility to call out and address injustice when we see it. As criminologists, our goals must be to lead classes and conduct research that address challenging issues head-on. We must work together with the community to improve the criminal justice system. These recent killings, and the countless others, clearly indicate that we must do better. Our department remains committed to the training of our students, serving the community, and conducting research that makes a real-world impact in the pursuit of public safety, equality, and justice.

We do not pretend to understand how people of color feel right now, but we are here to listen, learn, support, and do better. All of our students, staff, and faculty are valued and welcomed, and we strive to make certain this value guides our teaching, research, and all department activities. The only way forward is to move forward together.

If you have any questions or concerns, we are here for you. We hope that you will reach out to Department Chair Adam Bossler, Graduate Director Chad Posick, Undergraduate Director Barb King, or any of the faculty members in our department through these challenging times and as we move forward together.

Adam Bossler
Department Chair
abossler@georgiasouthern.edu

Chad Posick
Graduate Director
cposick@georgiasouthern.edu

Barb King
Undergraduate Director
bmking@georgiasouthern.edu

Image is from Panhandle Slim‘s facebook page. Panhandle Slim is a talented artist living in Savannah, GA that has donated art to departments across the College of Behavior and Social Sciences.