For New Dean of School of Criminal Justice, Research and Alumni Are Keys to Success – Rutgers Newark

Report on the Strategic Direction of the Rutgers School of Criminal Justice Under Dean Nancy La Vigne

Introduction and Leadership Vision

Nancy La Vigne has commenced her tenure as Dean of the Rutgers School of Criminal Justice (SCJ), coinciding with the institution’s 50th anniversary. An alumna of the SCJ doctoral program (1996) and the former presidentially appointed director of the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Institute of Justice (NIJ) from 2022 to 2024, Dean La Vigne aims to leverage her extensive experience to advance the school’s legacy. Her strategic vision is to build upon the school’s reputation for scholarship and policy-relevant research, with a significant focus on aligning its work with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Dean La Vigne’s agenda for the School of Criminal Justice is intrinsically linked to several key SDGs. Her priorities aim to foster justice, equality, and sustainable communities through targeted research, education, and partnerships.

• SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions: The core of the Dean’s plan is to strengthen the criminal justice system through evidence-based reform. Her past work at the NIJ, which included research on improving correctional environments and evaluating alternatives to traditional emergency responses, directly contributes to building effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions at all levels.
• SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals: A central strategy is the development of multi-stakeholder partnerships. Dean La Vigne plans to forge and expand relationships with state and local agencies, community organizations, and philanthropic bodies to support student success and impactful research. This collaborative approach is essential for achieving sustainable development outcomes.
• SDG 5: Gender Equality: The Dean’s commitment to this goal is demonstrated by her prior focus on research investments aimed at recruiting and retaining more women in policing, a critical step toward achieving gender equality within justice system institutions.
• SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities: A key objective is the promotion of “inclusive research.” This involves incorporating the perspectives of individuals most affected by the justice system, including corrections officers, crime victims, and formerly incarcerated persons. This approach directly addresses the need to reduce inequality by ensuring policies are informed by diverse experiences.
• SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities: The plan includes enhancing local safety and well-being through initiatives like the Newark Public Safety Collaborative. By partnering with city government and community members to analyze data and develop crime prevention strategies, the SCJ will contribute to making cities like Newark, East Orange, and Paterson more inclusive, safe, and resilient.
• SDG 4: Quality Education: As head of a leading academic institution, Dean La Vigne is committed to providing a quality education that prepares students to become leaders who can apply research to solve real-world problems, thereby advancing the capacity of the justice system.

Strategic Priorities and Key Initiatives

To achieve these goals, Dean La Vigne has outlined several key operational priorities:

1. Alumni Engagement: Prioritize reconnecting with SCJ alumni, recognizing them as leaders and valuable partners in shaping the school’s future and upholding its values.
2. Data-Driven Policy Evaluation: Utilize the school’s research capabilities to partner with government agencies and measure the impact of legislative reforms, such as new post-release supervision practices, thereby ensuring accountability and effectiveness (contributing to SDG 16).
3. Community-Based Safety Programs: Build upon existing initiatives like the Newark Public Safety Collaborative, which uses data mapping and analysis in partnership with the community to create targeted crime prevention responses (contributing to SDG 11).
4. Interdisciplinary Collaboration: Foster cross-disciplinary work with other Rutgers units, such as the School of Social Work, to address complex issues of safety, wellness, and equity in Essex County and surrounding urban areas.
5. Promotion of Inclusive Research: Champion a research methodology that actively includes the lived experiences of those closest to the issues under study, confronting historical realities and ensuring that research is both effective and equitable (contributing to SDG 10).

Future Outlook

As the School of Criminal Justice enters its next 50 years, Dean La Vigne’s leadership is poised to chart a more impactful legacy. By integrating the Sustainable Development Goals into the school’s core mission, the SCJ aims to leverage faculty expertise and strategic partnerships to promote safety, justice, and equity on both a local and global scale.

Identified Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Explanation of Connection

The article discusses themes of criminal justice reform, community safety, gender equality in policing, and building strong partnerships, which directly align with several Sustainable Development Goals. The focus is on using research and education to create more just, safe, and equitable societies, which is the core of the 2030 Agenda.

• SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions: This is the most prominent SDG, as the article centers on reforming the criminal justice system, improving justice agencies, promoting community safety, and ensuring inclusive research that gives a voice to all stakeholders, including victims and the incarcerated.
• SDG 5: Gender Equality: The article explicitly mentions a research investment in “recruiting and retaining more women in policing,” which directly addresses the goal of ensuring women’s full participation in public life.
• SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities: The focus on improving safety and addressing equity issues in specific urban areas like Newark, East Orange, and Paterson connects the work to the goal of making cities safe, inclusive, and resilient.
• SDG 4: Quality Education: The entire context is a School of Criminal Justice, an institution dedicated to scholarship, research, and educating future leaders who can contribute to a more just society.
• SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals: The article heavily emphasizes Dean La Vigne’s plan to build partnerships with government agencies, community organizations, and other academic departments to achieve her goals.

Specific SDG Targets Identified

Explanation of Targets

Based on the specific initiatives and plans mentioned by Dean La Vigne, several SDG targets can be identified as being directly relevant to the work of the School of Criminal Justice.

1. Target 16.1: Significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere. This is addressed through initiatives like the Newark Public Safety Collaborative, which uses data to “develop collaborative crime prevention responses.”
2. Target 16.3: Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all. This is connected to the overall mission to “improve and reform the criminal justice system” and the use of “inclusive research” that considers the experiences of all people affected by the system.
3. Target 16.6: Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels. The plan to collaborate with agencies like state parole to “track and measure the results of new programs” and evaluate reforms directly supports the development of more effective and accountable institutions.
4. Target 5.5: Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life. This is directly addressed by the research investment aimed at “recruiting and retaining more women in policing.”
5. Target 11.7: By 2030, provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces. The work to “promote safety” and address “safety, wellness, and equity issues” in Newark and surrounding cities is a foundational component of achieving this target.
6. Target 17.17: Encourage and promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships. Dean La Vigne’s strategy to build “relationships with state and local criminal justice agencies, community organizations, and philanthropic organizations” is a clear example of this target in action.

Indicators for Measuring Progress

Explanation of Indicators

While the article does not list official SDG indicators, it mentions or implies several metrics that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets. These are practical measures of the impact of the school’s research and partnerships.

1. Crime and community data analysis: The article states that the Newark Public Safety Collaborative “maps and analyzes crime and community data.” This data serves as a direct indicator for measuring progress on crime prevention and community safety (relevant to Target 16.1).
2. Proportion of women in policing: The specific mention of a research focus on “recruiting and retaining more women in policing” implies that the number and percentage of female officers is a key indicator of success (relevant to Target 5.5).
3. Impact assessments of justice reforms: Dean La Vigne’s example of telling state parole “the impact” of new supervision practices indicates that the results of program evaluations and policy assessments are used as key performance indicators (relevant to Target 16.6).
4. Measures of well-being in correctional settings: The investment in research on “improving environments for people who are confined and working in correctional settings” and “enhancing officer wellness” suggests that indicators related to health, safety, and well-being within these institutions are being tracked (relevant to Target 16.3).
5. Number and scope of partnerships: The plan for “developing new and expanding upon existing relationships” implies that the quantity and quality of collaborations with external agencies and organizations are a measure of success (relevant to Target 17.17).

Summary Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: newark.rutgers.edu