Vice Provost Completes Term as Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences President

March 20, 2015

Brian Payne

Brian K. Payne, vice provost for graduate and undergraduate academic programs, recently completed his term as president of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences.

As president of the association, Payne was instrumental in expanding the involvement of graduate students in the association and developing connections between the association and the community.

The theme of the annual conference held under his presidency was "Expanding the Boundaries of the Criminal Justice Sciences: Looking Outward Rather than Inward." Those creating panels were encouraged to develop discussions that were interdisciplinary in nature or combined scholars with practitioners.

The conference, held in Orlando, Fla. the week of March 3, featured 495 panels - the most ever held at the association's annual conference. Keynote speakers included Piper Kerman, author of "Orange is the New Black;" Lt. Gen. Russel Honore, author of "Leadership in the New Normal;" and Julia Pierson, former director of the United States Secret Service.

Payne delivered a presidential keynote address encouraging members of the association to be more interdisciplinary in their efforts and to continue to build strategies to strengthen ties between higher education and the community. Specific areas where Payne promoted interdisciplinary thinking in criminal justice included scholarship related to cyber security; biology and crime; public policy; women's issues and crime; and the humanities and crime.