Dr. Dan Denny, coordinator of the Criminal Justice Program at East Central University in Ada, has been elected president of the Oklahoma Criminal Justice Association for 2009-10.
Dr. Dan Denny (left), newly elected president of the Oklahoma Criminal Justice Association, presents a plaque to the immediate past president, Dr. Mark McCoy, for his service during the 2008-09 term. Denny is coordinator of the Criminal Justice Program at East Central University in Ada.
Sonya Hensley, coordinator of ECU's Tribal Policing Program, was elected state secretary of the association. Denny and Hensley will plan and prepare for the next annual conference which will be held at ECU on April 2, 2010.
Denny, president-elect in 2008-09, succeeded Dr. Mark McCoy, director of the Criminal Justice Program at the University of Oklahoma. A Change of Command Ceremony was held at the University of Central Oklahoma during the annual state conference.
The mission of the Oklahoma Criminal Justice Association is to advance the influence, interests, research, ethics and professionalism of criminal justice educators, practitioners, students and pre-professionals, while working in the cause of justice in the state of Oklahoma.
The organization's primary purpose is to promote the interests of criminal justice professionals while working in the cause of justice throughout Oklahoma, Denny said.
The OCJA is open to students and faculty and provides criminal justice students the opportunity to present papers and posters at a state conference. ECU student Brandi Johnson presented a paper at the conference with Dr. Jaime Burns, assistant professor of human resources.
"We are looking forward to a beneficial and educational conference for 2010," Denny said. "And we look forward to working with academicians, practitioners and students across a wide variety of criminal justice occupations."
Hensley will bring a new dimension to the organization by working with tribal policing organizations to fill a void in Indian Country representation, Denny said.
"We are excited about the opportunities available in the OCJA. In only its fourth year of existence, we have seen many things accomplished and hope to see many more in the coming year," he said.
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