Repository: UIHistories Project: Board of Trustees Minutes - 1974 Version B [PAGE 171]

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1973]

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

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in Criminalistics. It has also endorsed the creation of a Center for Research in Criminal Justice. These programs would be formally initiated in September, 1973. Criminal Justice is an interdisciplinary problem-oriented field of scholarship and research. It embraces those aspects of the social, behavioral, natural, and medical sciences relevant to understanding crime and social deviance, and it entails a critical examination of the system which has evolved for handling the attendant problems. T h e two masters-level programs recommended for approval will have a common core. T h e M.A. in Criminal Justice is designed to contribute to the establishment and maintenance of a rational criminal justice system through preparation of scholars, teachers, researchers, and practitioners who will understand both crime and justice. T h e M.S. degree in Criminalistics will concentrate upon technical procedures in criminal investigation. The Center for Research in Criminal Justice will focus the resources of the campus upon research in the area of criminal justice. Through this Center, specialists in the academic community and practitioners in criminal justice organizations will be encouraged to make the most effective use of professional and academic resources in the control and treatment of crime and the individual involvement in the criminal justice system. This Center, a unit within the Department of Criminal Justice, will support a core staff to conduct research in the field of criminal justice and coordinate the activities of others engaged in research in criminal justice. At the present time, no college or university within the State of Illinois has a graduate program offering a Master's Degree in Criminal Justice. University of Illinois internal planning documents and Master P l a n - P h a s e I I I of the Illinois Board of Higher Education identify the field of criminal justice as a high priority area, and it is fitting that the Chicago Circle campus develop such programs which are of the greatest and most immediate relevance to both its urban constituency and the state at large. In recognition of the campus' commitment to the development of the field of Criminal Justice, the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration of the United States Department of Justice has given Chicago Circle annual Law Enforcement Education Program awards of from $40,000 to $60,000 a year since 1970, and the level of support will range from $75,000 to $100,000 next year. It is expected that through the Center additional external funds of substantial magnitude will be generated. These programs also have been assigned a high priority for internal reallocation of resources, since they play such an essential role in the academic plan for the campus. T h e Chancellor at the Chicago Circle campus and the Vice President for Academic Development and Coordination concur in this recommendation. The University Senates Conference has indicated that no further Senate jurisdiction is involved. I recommend approval subject to further action by the Illinois Board of Higher Education.

On motion of Mr. Howard, this recommendation was approved.

MASTER OF ARTS IN GEOGRAPHY, CHICAGO CIRCLE (6) T h e Chicago Circle Senate has recommended approval of a new curriculum leading to the degree of Master of A r t s in Geography. Areas of emphasis initially available will be Urban Geography and Environmental Studies. T h e program will consist of a core of courses in the philosophy and methodology of geography, courses in the area of emphasis, and intra- and extradepartmental courses supportive to the a r e a of emphasis. A thesis is required. T h e program responds to the continued and anticipated increase in demand for scientists able to make decisions with respect to problems of the urban and natural environments. It is designed: (1) to prepare students for careers as geographers in the fields of urban geography and city and regional planning; (2) to prepare students for careers as geographers in those areas of commerce, industry, and government related to land development and resource management; (3) to prepare teachers of geography for positions in junior and community colleges, and to improve the level of geographic education at all levels of instruction in the nearby public and parochial school systems; and (4) for qualified students, as a step toward acquiring a more advanced degree in geography at another institution.