Forensics Journal - Stevenson University 2010 | Page 7

FORENSICS JOURNAL

Dear Reader,
Welcome to the first edition of Stevenson University’s Forensics Journal. Since 1947, we, along with Villa Julie
College, our predecessor institution, have had a vision: to educate, not only for the sake of higher learning, but
also for the sake of a better life. It has been and continues to be our hope that by doing well for our students,
and our students doing well for themselves, the Stevenson University community will do well by others.
The Forensics Journal is a direct outgrowth of the Stevenson University vision to become a national leader in
collaborative career-focused liberal arts education. The journal is a collaborative effort among students in various
fields of study—accounting, information technology, investigations, law, and science—and between the students
and our faculty.
What led us to publish this journal is our core belief in the value of career-focused higher education. The persons
who came up with the idea for the journal envisioned the journal as a career-building opportunity for our students,
not a career-advancement opportunity for academicians.1
The idea for a journal began a few years ago as part of a continuous improvement of our forensic studies master’s
degree program. The program was established in 2004 to address a need identified by employers for persons in the
fields of accounting, information technology, investigations, and law to testify in court. The journal was not originally part of the curriculum. The original curriculum required all students to take a writing and research course, and
only law students to take a thesis course. Students in the law track were the only master’s degree students who had
the responsibility and the opportunity to produce a significant piece of graduate-level writing. However, students
from other tracks occasionally expressed interest in conducting higher-level research and producing a thesis. Under
the original curriculum, we could not accommodate students from other tracks who did.
We found ourselves trying to encourage students to appreciate the value of writing, especially in the field of forensic
studies. By value, we meant more than just some sort of abstraction, but a very concrete, economic value of being
able to write well so our students can advance their careers. A required core writing course just did not seem like
enough to impress upon students the real value of writing. So in concert with the idea of a journal, we decided to
require our students to take a core course where they would prepare a written submission that, if good enough,
might one day be considered for inclusion in the journal. By having their articles published, students would have
a real product to show employers, and presumably would reap a real benefit from their achievement, beyond just
course credit and a grade.
It is our sincere hope that the journal will stand as a concrete example of our commitment to the mission of
Stevenson University, which is to provide a career-focused education. We hope the journal shows off the talents
of our students and enhances their career opportunities. Of course, we also hope the journal provides useful
information to students of forensic studies both at Stevenson University and elsewhere. Please enjoy this first
edition of our Forensic Studies Journal.

Thomas Coogan, Esq.
Program Coordinator, Forensic Studies,
and Associate Professor of Forensic Studies

Joyce Becker, Esq.
Dean, School of Graduate
and Professional Studies

We are indebted to the leadership of President Kevin Manning and Dean Paul Lack, who have always provided the forensic studies and
this most recent effort with their unwavering support.
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