In What Ways Can I Help?

          Forensic and Investigative Science

The New Forensic Identification program at WVU has generated a great deal of interest among students, news media, and within the forensics community itself. It's an exciting program to invest in. In the summer of 2001, we graduated our first three students at the same time that an estimated 200 in-coming freshman applied for the Forensics pre-program! Several nations have expressed an interest in having their students attend our forensics program. The popular national magazine Rolling Stone published an article on unique college majors in which our program was described. V/VU has obtained a grant from the Department of Justice to organize and help set national criteria for Forensic Science programs at both the undergraduate and graduate level. This is a two-year project involving international forensic experts as well as educators to establish the criteria by which Forensic programs will ultimately obtain national accreditation. All of this is a testament to the success of our new program. Why such interest? Several factors have served to thrust forensics into the spotlight. Deficiencies in forensic practices made apparent in well- publicized court cases, the significant impact molecular biology/DNA has had on identifying perpetrators as well as exonerating innocent suspects, the establishment of certification programs for forensic labs, and the estimated need for 10,000 new forensic scientists in the next five years have all contributed to the need for well-educated forensic professionals. Our program is a very demanding, hard science degree--exactly what the forensic community has been crying out for.

Contributions to the Forensics Program will be beneficial not only to WVU students and the University, but also to society as a whole since we will be part of the national project to train forensic scientists. Both our system of government and the conductance of commerce requires that citizens have confidence in the justice system, that perpetrators of crimes are identified and convicted while at the same time innocent citizens can be exonerated from the commission of crimes. Recent advances in forensic science allow for this as never before. Our task is to ensure that law enforcement personnel receive the proper training to guarantee this technology is available and properly used in all criminal cases. Your contributions will help ensure that training.

FORENSIC AND INVESTIGATIVE SCIENCE PRIORITIES

• Equipment and supplies for state-of-the-art molecular biology and chemistry labs
• Fellowship funds to help defray the cost to students of mandatory 14-16 week summer internships
• Support for student research, travel, and participation at national and international meetings and workshops
• Faculty development funds for research, participation in national/international meetings and workshops, and for training and continuing education to ensure high quality, timely instruction for students
• Scholarship resources for outstanding forensic undergraduates
• An endowed faculty position to support the teaching of this new program