The Oklahoma Criminal Justice Association (OCJA) will hold its annual conference on April 9 [FRIDAY] in the Stanley Wagoner Ballroom in the Memorial Student Union at East Central University in Ada. This year's theme will be "New Horizons: A Changing World."
The keynote speaker will be Dr. Steve Turner, ECU vice president for administration and finance. He is a former criminal justice coordinator and department chair at ECU.
The deadline to register is March 31.
Research presentations will be made as well as poster sessions by colleges and universities from across Oklahoma. A Chiefs of Police Roundtable will focus on discussions surrounding policing issues on Oklahoma's college campuses, and presentations will be made by the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs and the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.
In addition, OCJA will conduct a silent auction to raise funds for student sponsorships to the annual conference. Conference attendees will have the opportunity to tour the Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training (CLEET) facility in the afternoon.
Dr. Dan Denny, OCJA president and coordinator of the ECU Criminal Justice Program, will host the annual event. Sonya Hensley, project coordinator of the ECU Tribal Police Training Program and the 2009-10 OCJA state secretary, will assist in coordinating the conference and oversee events throughout the day.
"We are expecting a good cross-section of criminal justice educators as well as practitioners at this year's conference," Denny said. "It is our hope that this event becomes a springboard for emergent ideas within the field of criminal justice in Oklahoma."
Next year's conference will be held at Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford and will be hosted by the incoming president, Dr. Dan Brown.
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.
To join OCJA or register for the conference, visit www.okcja.org or contact Dr. Dan Denny at East Central University, 580-559-5382.
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