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Student Miriam Spencer & Professor Dr. Judith Leary Present at Midwest Criminal Justice Conference

MBU sophomore Miriam Spencer had the recent honor of presenting at the Midwest Criminal Justice Association 48th Annual Meeting in Chicago. The Midwestern Criminal Justice Association (MCJA), affiliated with the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, fosters “communication and collaboration among criminal justice researchers, academics, and practitioners” and convenes every fall to showcase current work being done across 12 states and two Canadian provinces.

Miriam, an Interdisciplinary Studies major, says, “After submitting my final paper last semester on an ethical issue in forensic anthropology, Dr. Leary contacted me to see if I would be interested in attending an academic conference this fall.” Miriam was “immediately intrigued.”

Her presentation, “Ethical Decision-Making in Forensic Anthropology: Navigating Mass Fatality Response,” focused on the ethical challenges forensic anthropologists face in mass fatality situations which require “prioritized resource management for transparency, scientific accuracy, and family closure.” The balance is complex as workers seek to maintain scientific integrity and ensure unbiased and accurate analysis, respecting the deceased and their families through sound methods and protocols.

MBU’s Criminal Justice Program Coordinator Dr. Judith Leary also presented a session titled “Reframing Reentry: A Strengths-Based Alternative to the Deficit-Driven Paradigm.” Dr. Leary, who has served as a 911 dispatcher and an adult corrections officer, volunteered in a county reentry coalition, worked as a reentry research assistant, and is currently a juvenile corrections officer, clearly has expert insight into the reentry process. Her session featured the need to adjust reentry away from “a deficit-based lens,” which emphasizes “risk, pathology, and individual failure” to an approach “with emerging strengths-based practices,” supported by “research, policy development, and evidence-informed reentry strategies.”

Dr. Leary commends Miriam for an excellent presentation of her research. Together they are now exploring options for similar conferences, training opportunities, or internships in which Miriam could “continue to engage in the type of robust experiential learning that graduate program coordinators and future employers love to see.”

Though national conferences can be intimidating, Dr. Leary notes that regional conferences such as MCJA are “student-friendly organizations” which “tend to be very encouraging environments for early-career scholars.” She encourages ����ԭ�� students across all disciplines to participate in regional conferences within their field, and she welcomes other criminal justice students to consider MCJA’s annual September conference (which requires proposal submissions by July 15).

Pleased with her experience, Miriam praises Dr. Leary, saying, “I have learned so much from her and have begun to view criminal justice from a new perspective.” She adds, “I feel that, with Dr. Leary’s guidance and the opportunity to combine Criminal Justice and Science concentrations in an Interdisciplinary Studies major, I am taking significant steps … on the pathway toward becoming a forensic anthropologist.”

For further program-specific information please contact the following:

MBU Interdisciplinary Studies program: Jonathan Coleman

MBU Criminal Justice program: Dr. Judith Leary