Brandon Applegate ’90

Coincidences abound with three BGSU criminal justice alumni. Brandon Applegate '90, Kenneth Novak '91 and Colleen Kadleck '94, are all from the Cleveland area. Each came to BGSU unsure of a major course of study. Eventually, each decided upon criminal justice. After earning their bachelor degrees at BGSU, they decided to continue their studies, all of them earning masters and doctorates at the University of Cincinnati . Today, Applegate, Novak and Kadleck are professors of criminal justice at universities across the U.S.

For Kadleck, teaching and research seemed a natural progression in her career.

“After I earned my bachelor's degree, I realized I still wanted and needed to learn more about criminal justice,” says Kadleck, an assistant professor of criminal justice at the University of Omaha .

Her teaching approach, she says, was highly influenced by the interdisciplinary approach BGSU uses in its criminal justice program.

“At BGSU, the interdisciplinary approach taught us to look at things through different lenses,” says Kadleck. “You have to understand all the different elements that bear on how and why crime occurs and how society responds to it.”

“In the classroom, I try to help my students to see the link between all of the elements.”

For example, when explaining how criminals select their victims, Kadleck told her students that the process is similar to how animals select their prey. Met with disbelief, Kadleck showed them a film depicting animals and their hunting methods, with their prey attempting to escape. Upon seeing the film, the students made the connection.

Kenneth Novak ’91

Novak, an associate professor of criminal justice at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, says he brings personal observations from the real world into the classroom to enhance teaching.

Novak, who often works closely with the Kansas City Police Department on issues such as racial profiling, says research becomes an integral part of his teaching.

“Research and teaching go hand in hand,” says Novak. “I think the students understand criminal justice better when you bring in research elements.”

Novak also draws on his experience at BGSU when he's teaching.

‘One of the textbooks I use is an updated version of one that I had as a student at BGSU,” he says. “When I'm teaching that class, I vividly remember my class at BGSU. I catch myself saying some of the same things my professor (Gerald Rigby) said to us.” Coincidentally, one of the books Novak authored is now used by BGSU in a criminal justice class.

Applegate, an associate professor of criminal justice and legal studies at University of Central Florida, often takes his students on a tour of a local jail or prison.

“Most of the students have never talked to an offender before or seen a prison firsthand,” says Applegate.

Applegate says changes and trends in the criminal justice system have created changes in how students view their careers and the system as a whole.

“I see students looking more broadly at their education today,” he says. “With more of a focus on newer areas such as homeland security and community policing, students have a more expanded view of their career options.”

In addition to teaching, each of the professors are involved in a variety of research ranging from the corrections process, to re-entry into society, to juvenile offenders.

“It's one thing to be involved in research and another thing to find ways to make it useful,” says Kadleck. “That's often where our teaching skills come into play.”

Colleen Kadleck ’94

For example, Kadleck was recently involved with a research study of 1,000 juvenile offenders. The study, which involved the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services and the Juvenile Probation Department, looked at risk factors associated with the juvenile offenders. Because different risk assessment methods were being used, it was difficult to analyze the risks and decide on the most effective intervention methods.

“As a researcher, I looked at the summary data of the study and saw things that those who needed the information didn't see,” says Kadleck.

Helping others to understand that data was another issue.

“No one likes to stare at tables of data,” she says. “We converted the tables into a format similar to shaded weather maps, something that nearly everyone is used to seeing.”

“The results became much clearer to everyone involved,” says Kadleck. “The agencies had a much better understanding of the risk factors and now they argue for the resources they need to deal with the problem.”

Each of the professors agree that changes in the criminal justice system will bring changes into the classroom and even more opportunities for graduates.

Applegate foresees more focus on helping offenders re-enter society. “With a nearly two-thirds repeat offender rate, I think we will see changes in how we help prisoners make life transitions once they are released,” he says.

Novak believes the criminal justice system will more actively engage citizens in helping to solve crime.

“I think we are recognizing that citizens can be a very valuable resource and can offer important input,” Novak says. “The police are recognizing that they can't solve crime on their own. “

–Julianne Jardine