CPS Spring 2023 Newsletter
Professional Security Studies
On March 28, FEMA and the Professional Security Studies Department at New Jersey City University co-hosted the Region 2 Higher Education Roundtable addressing the Future of Emergency Management. More than ever, contemporary national and civil security challenges require agencies, the community, and academia to work together to both understand and support each other as we face ever-expanding challenges. The relationships built via the FEMA roundtables allow for the connecting of practitioner needs with academic research and preparation for the field. It is about people with diverse backgrounds, experiences, and education who are committed to serving. We are most thankful for FEMA’s willingness to work with Academia and its commitment to excellence.
Dr. Wiltsey was a co-presenter at the International Association of Chiefs of Police: Officer Safety and Wellness Symposium in Anaheim, California, on March 5, 2023, on The New Jersey Resiliency Program for Law Enforcement - 3 Years of Growth. Dr. Wiltsey is the Coordinator for Minor in Forensic Studies, a joint educational program to be offered with the Criminal Justice Department, which was approved by the Board of Trustees in April 2022, with the hope that it will be offered to students in 2023. Dr. Wiltsey is continuing a cross-institution collaboration with a colleague from John Jay College of Criminal Justice on a research study on the impact of resilience training for law enforcement. To date, data has been collected from over 3,000 law enforcement officers..
Presentation:
Wiltsey, M.T., Salfati, C.G., & Korzun, E. (2022, September 23). Building Evidence-Based Wellness Programs by Contextualizing Training in Officer Illness & Wellness. Presented at the 2022 Annual Conference of the Society for Police & Criminal Psychology, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada.
PIC
Current Publications:
Wiltsey, M.T., & Foster, E. (2022). Combatting Impostor Phenomenon – An Overview for Attorneys. For the Defense, 7(2), 13-16.
Wiltsey, M.T. (2022). Promoting Resilience in Law Enforcement, Public Safety, and Beyond – The New Jersey Resiliency Program. FEMA Higher Education Newsletter.
Wiltsey, M.T., Atkins, E.A., Hey, A. (2022). Driving While Manic: Differentiating Symptoms of Bipolar Disorder from Intoxication. American Journal of Forensic Psychology.
Dr. Scott Fisher continued presenting on data analytics and public policy, with recent presentations for the Department of Homeland Security, FEMA, and for students and faculty in the Intelligence Community Centers of Academic Excellence (IC CAE) program. Other recent presentations include North Korean History and Ideology through Propaganda Posters at SRI International in Princeton. Recent grants include a one-semester award from NJCU’s 2023 Digital Ethnic Futures Consortium (DEFCon) to create materials that help faculty members incorporate data analysis into pedagogy.
Recent and pending publications include:
Find it. Vet it. Share it. The US Government’s Open-Source Intelligence Problem and How to Fix It, with Brian Cheng and Jason Morgan; Modern War Institute, West Point, March 2023
[paper proposal] Russia’s Rhetoric & Soft Power in the Near Abroad: Assessing the Influence of Strategic Narratives, with Graig Klein and Juris Pupcenoks, Conflict Research Society conference, King’s College London, September 2023
[under review] Sentiment Analysis and Strategic Narratives: Russian Rhetoric on Ukraine, with Graig Klein and Juris Pupcenoks, Europe-Asia Studies, January 2023
Dr. Kutub Thakur has published the following text: Cybersecurity Threat Intelligence and International Security with Sadia Ismat, Abu Kamruzzaman, and Muath Obaidat. Dr. Thakur presented the following paper at the IEEE conference on December 8, 2022. “A Comprehensive Review of Endpoint Security: Threats and Defenses.”
Dr. Juste Codjo, an assistant professor and doctoral program coordinator in the Department of Professional Security Studies, contributed a chapter to The Handbook of African Intelligence Cultures. Newly published at Rowman & Littlefield, the book brings together a group of international scholars to provide the first review of intelligence cultures in every African country. The volume explores how intelligence cultures are influenced by a range of factors, including past and present societal, governmental, and international dynamics. Dr. Codjo’s contributions examine the evolution of Benin’s intelligence services since the country’s independence in 1960, finding a pattern of 'presidentialization' of intelligence services. This pattern, he argues, has severely compromised the country's ability to build a professional organization dedicated to providing actionable intelligence for national security purposes.
Forthcoming Book (June 2023):
Jonathan D. Rosen and Sebastián Cutrona, eds., Mano Dura Policies in Latin America (New York, NY: Routledge, 2023).
Recent Articles
Jonathan D. Rosen and José Miguel Cruz, “Dancing with the devil: Intervention programs under criminal governance in Northern Central America,” Criminology & Criminal Justice (2022): 1-18.
Jonathan D. Rosen, “Understanding Bukele’s Gang Crack Down in El Salvador,” El Centro/ Small Wars Journal (2022): 1-7.
Jonathan D. Rosen, Sebastián Cutrona, and Katy Lindquist, “Gangs, Violence, and Fear: Punitive Darwinism in El Salvador,” Crime, Law and Social Change (2022): 1-20. Sebastián A. Cutrona, Jonathan D. Rosen, and Katy A. Lindquist, “Not Just Money. How Organized Crime, Violence, and Insecurity are Shaping Emigration in Mexico, El Salvador, and Guatemala,” International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice (2022): 1-24.
José Miguel Cruz and Jonathan D. Rosen, “Leaving the Pervasive Barrio: Gang Disengagement under Criminal Governance,” Social Problems (2022): 1-17.
Dr. Abdullah Al-Hayajneh, Assistant Professor and Cybersecurity Program Advisor, conducted a series of Cybersecurity Workshops and Marketing events from December 16-17, 2022 at Union County College (UCC). Over 25 students from UCC attended the event and explored the academic and professional opportunities in the field of Cybersecurity and the Cybersecurity B.S. program at NJCU.
NJCU D.Sc. Class of 2017
D.Sc. Alumnus Promoted to Assistant Vice President for Campus Safety & Preparedness
Dr. Rodric Bowman has recently been appointed to the position of Assistant Vice President for Campus Safety and Preparedness at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, N.Y. Dr. Bowman is a 2017 graduate of NJCU's Doctor of Science program in Civil Security Leadership, Management, and Policy. He is an accomplished public health, emergency management, and public safety professional with experience developing comprehensive emergency management plans and serving as a senior leader responsible for statewide emergency management programs. Prior to his promotion, Dr. Bowman served as the Director for Northeastern Operations for the Olson Group, LTD, where he provided subject matter expertise and consultative homeland security and emergency management solutions to a wide array of clients across all sectors. His experience spans the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. Dr. Bowman is also an adjunct professor at Wichita State University, where he instructs courses in Emergency Management and Risk Assessment. We are all proud of his impressive achievements.
Nursing
New Jersey City University to Receive Nearly $800,000 in Federal Funding to Provide Equitable Access to Online Nursing Education
The New Jersey City University Nursing Department has been awarded $782,000 to provide equitable access to high-demand online nursing education through the Congressionally Funded Community Projects program of the Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2023. NJCU’s Nursing Department is in the process of development and implementation for specific courses to go fully online to enhance student accessibility of its Bachelor of Science in Nursing program. Students enrolled in NJCU’s accelerated and non-accelerated second-degree nursing programs will also benefit from the flexibility of online course availability. A professional instructional design firm will be selected by an open public bidding process by the Nursing faculty that best fits our vision for high student engagement in a culturally sensitive curriculum in all nursing courses. Nursing faculty will concurrently expand their proficiency in online instruction and course design and delivery through a program of professional development provided by experts in the field. By providing students with time and access flexibility, NJCU’s BSN programs will grow and succeed in their mission to serve their communities.
Kappa Eta 2023 Nursing Inductions
Sunday, March 26, 2023, Kappa Eta welcomed inductees, their families and friends, faculty, and guests to Kappa Eta’s first in-person induction since 2019 held at the Chandelier Restaurant in Bayonne, N.J. Dr. Joyce Wright, chair of the Nursing Department welcomed all the participants. Dr. Patricia Joffe, faculty advisor, presented the mission and vision of Sigma. Dr. Amita Avadhani, Rutgers Faculty, Coordinator of the NJ Consortium of Sigma chapters and Coordinator of Sigma Region 14, was the keynote speaker on the topic of leadership. Amanda Tobias received the Kappa Eta chapter research grant.
Candidates were inducted by Kappa Eta board members, Marissa Rodrigues, Christine Dobson, Sara Teplitsky, Amanda Tobias, and faculty counselor Dr. Patricia Joffe.
Kappa Eta congratulated new undergraduate members, Ruth Cyrius, Jenny Joachim, Maximillian Kitaychik, Keith Leomo, Kathleen McCarthy, Sefi Ng, Erin Norden, Beatriz Simbulan, Veralda, Simeon, and Harmony Stark, along with Rochelle Angulo from the master’s program, and nurse leader Laura Mojena
Fire Science
NJCU Fire Science Alumni Lt. Nichols recently commissioned with the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve
Congratulations to Chief Warrant Officer Adam Nichols ‘08 (B.S. in Fire Science) on his recent Commission with the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve. He will be assigned to U.S. Coast Guard New York Station on Staten Island where he will be the Senior Reserve Officer/Boat Forces Officer ensuring Readiness and Boat Crew Qualifications for approximately 50 active reservists. In the civilian world, Nichols is Lieutenant with the Montgomery County, Maryland Fire and Rescue Service, where he serves as a Recruit Training Coordinator at the Public Safety Training Academy. Congratulations on your commission and good luck with your new assignment!
Criminal Justice
Dr. William Calathes' work on international financial crime, "Libor Rate Scandals and Casino Capitalism: Criminal Fraud in World Financial Markets," will be published this spring in Law, Crime and Society. The paper offers a critical view of the practices of individuals and their organizations in the competitive criminogenic market environment of international global finance by discussing the structural contradictions of international casino capitalism.