Vision & Mission of the Department of Criminal Justice
Vision
The Criminal Justice Department seeks to integrate theory, research, and practice in the fields of criminal justice, homeland security, and intelligence. This will provide agencies access to gifted academic researchers who are respected in their fields and a well-educated, diverse pool of students from which to hire. This integration also translates into students who are well-prepared for higher academic pursuits. We believe that theory, research, and practice should interact not just in the field but also in the classroom.
With this in mind, the department takes a multi-disciplinary, collaborative approach to advancing academic and practice oriented research and publication goals. Our goal is to place The Citadel at the forefront as a national and regional source of expertise and education related to criminal justice, homeland security, and intelligence. Thus, Criminal Justice faculty seek visible national and regional roles in the fields of criminal justice, homeland security and intelligence with regard to academic research, professional practice, and student engagement. Not only does our faculty educate students on criminal justice, homeland security and intelligence topics but we carefully and systematically study what these fields do, how they do it, why they do it and what can be done to improve it.
Mission
The Criminal Justice Department seeks to develop students that will positively impact Criminal Justice, Homeland Security and Intelligence Analysis within academic institutions and at local, state and federal levels. Positive impacts will occur because our students are learning in an environment where faculty are actively engaged in theorizing, researching, publishing and promoting excellence in practice as well as in the classroom.
Mission specific goals
1. To develop, through teaching, research, and service graduates who will make effective use of evaluation, analysis and synthesis to interpret and solve problems.
2. To provide students with the knowledge, skills, and abilities that will enable them to make better informed decisions using available research, theory, and knowledge of effective practice.
3. To develop graduates who can appraise and integrate multiple sources of knowledge, including research-based knowledge and practice
4. To develop graduates who use their knowledge of theory and research to inform practice
5. To create life-long learners who continuously seek to discover, appraise, and address changes in populations, scientific and technological developments, and emerging societal trends