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John Jay College Receives a nearly $400,000 Homeland Security Scientific Leadership Award

New York, NY, January 25, 2011 -- John Jay College of Criminal Justice today announced that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has given a $399,983 Scientific Leadership Award for Minority Serving Institutions to the College.

“This award is a testament to the great work of our faculty and their commitment to providing our students with rich learning experiences,” Jeremy Travis, President of John Jay College stated. “The funding will support the work of two of our PhD students in a program of mentorship, education and research at the College targeting underrepresented groups committed to careers in homeland security.”

According to Professor David Green of the Sociology Department, “We look forward to building on the significant and multi-disciplinary terrorism-related work already being done at John Jay by moving in some new directions. In addition to providing three years of funding for two PhD students, the grant also supports two distinct projects. Mine will focus on the media’s role in the shaping of public and policy responses to terrorist acts. One goal is to develop an analytical and methodological framework to be used to assess the veracity of mass-mediated claims about terrorist threats and responses.”

“The project I lead will focus on judgments of credibility in counterterrorism settings, with the aim of generating constructive guidelines for the operational community,” stated Professor Maria Hartwig of the Psychology Department. “We are thrilled about the opportunity to develop a new graduate-level program of homeland security research, and we are committed to providing a stimulating and rewarding learning experience for the graduate students supported by this grant.”

The Scientific Leadership Award (SLA) will develop a coordinated, three-year, graduate-level program of mentorship, education and research at John Jay College of Criminal Justice targeting two outstanding PhD students from underrepresented groups committed to careers in homeland security. Principal Investigator David Green and co-Principal Investigator Maria Hartwig will lead the SLA education and research program. They, along with seven additional faculty mentors in various academic departments, will mentor students interested in homeland security-related issues, research and employment. The program will provide unique opportunities for students to gain hands-on research, publishing and grant writing experience, to develop interpersonal and presentations skills as part of a collaborative team, and to broaden networks with experts on both the domestic and international stages.

About John Jay College of Criminal Justice: An international leader in educating for justice, John Jay College of Criminal Justice of The City University of New York offers a rich liberal arts and professional studies curriculum to upwards of 14,000 undergraduate and graduate students from more than 135 nations. In teaching, scholarship and research, its faculty are the College approaches justice as an applied art and science in service to society and as an ongoing.