CONTACT: Michael T. Yura, Program Coordinator, 304-293-2453
Tim Terman; 304-293-6998; [email protected]
ATTENTION EDUCATION/FEATURE EDITORS
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. ˜ West Virginia University's new forensic identification degree program slated to begin this fall just got another boost.
WVU's first-of-its-kind program hopes to receive $5 million of a $309
million appropriation for national crime-fighting initiatives in West
Virginia, predominantly earmarked for the FBI's new Integrated Automated
Fingerprint Identification System in nearby Clarksburg.
Sen. Robert C. Byrd added the funds late last month to the 1999 Fiscal
Year Commerce/Justice/State Appropriations Bill.
"We are thrilled to be leading the way among higher education institutions
in offering this dramatic new discipline in forensic identification, said
Michael T. Yura, program coordinator. "The money added by Senator Byrd to
this bill will support the infrastructure and training component of the
coursework," specifically the upgrading of WVU's engineering and computer
science virtual reality laboratories and the lab facilities at the Health
Sciences Center and the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences to bring them
on par with FBI crime center labs.
Yura said the funding will also support world class adjunct faculty who
will be teaching specific courses.
WVU and the FBI signed an agreement in December that led the way for WVU to become the first university in the world to offer undergraduate degrees
in latent fingerprint identification and biometric identification. The
undergraduate programs, being offered for the first time this fall on the
Morgantown campus, will accept about 20 students. A compatible master's
degree program will be introduced by fall 1999.
"Criminal investigation agencies like the FBI rely on experts to find
clues otherwise hidden from the untrained eye. WVU, by offering this unique
program, will provide graduates with the skills and expertise necessary for
such intricate crime-fighting jobs," Byrd explained.
Yura said forensic identification specialists for the 21st century will
need the degree- specific academic credentials WVU is providing.
Course work will be multidisciplinary with a strong natural science base,
and include classes such as chemistry, biology, calculus, psychology,
physiology, logic and American government.
Core specific courses will delve into more specific and sophisticated
topics such as digital forensic photography, crime scene analysis, computer
imagery, trauma techniques, scientific and technical writing, expert
forensic testimony, trace evidence, blood splatter and "cop talk" -- a
course in understanding law enforcement technology.
Classes will be competency-based, meaning a passing grade is not good
enough. "You can geta B or C in a traditional college course and pass, but
when you're dealing with human evidence like fingerprints, a C won't cut
it," Yura said.
The capstone of the program will be an internship at a federal facility
such as the new FBI laboratory in Quantico, Va., or the FBI's Criminal
Justice Information Services Division just 40 miles down the road in
Clarksburg, W.Va. Field work will also be available in the banking and
security industries, as well as other law enforcement agencies.
For years, fingerprint specialists have trained on the job, but recent
technological advances and increased educational requirements demand more
sophisticated training, said John Hoyt, chief of the FBI's resource
management division in Clarksburg. "A degree plus experience will make for
a much more credible witness in court," Hoyt explained.
Graduates of these programs will be "crime solvers" as well as "problem
solvers," Yura added. "These will be professionals who can think through
complex situations and scenarios...like the TWA Flight 800 explosion,
ValuJet Crash, Oklahoma City bombing and Nicole Brown Simpson murder."
As Yura points out, these types of crime and disaster scenes require
highly technical evaluations and presentations of human evidence ˜ blood,
hair and skin fibers, fingerprints, DNA, retina scans, voice recognition
and more.
Drawing interest from across the United States and abroad, the program is
highly competitive, Yura noted. "Because there is such demand for the
program, and we are linking it to field work and placement, we are being
highly selective," he said.
WVU is currently accepting freshmen and sophomores for the pre-forensic
identification major. WVU also plans a distance education component and
continuing education courses for professionals.
For more information, contact Michael T. Yura, Program Coordinator,
P.O.Box 6121, Morgantown, WV 26506-6121; e-mail: [email protected]; fax:
304-293-4082; phone: 304-293- 2453; web: www.wvu.edu/~forensic/
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