University of Tampa

  BY FALON FISCHER UT’s criminology and criminal justice department was awarded the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS) certification for its undergraduate program on Feb. 17. According to ACJS website, UT is now the first college in Florida to become ACJS certified. The award was received by Kathryn Branch, chair and associate professor of criminology and criminal justice, and Sorle Diih, assistant professor of criminology, during the ACJS meeting in New Orleans which took place on Feb. 13-17. “We were working for a year and a half looking at our program compared to the standards they were looking for,” Branch said. “A lot of faculty worked on this Dr. Diih and also Dr. Capsambelis, we had to review every course, every syllabus, every faculty member every single piece of our program and what is offered.” The ACJS is an international organization that fosters professional and scholarly activities in the field of criminal justice. It is one of the two largest criminal justice organizations on the globe apart from The American Society of Criminology. Now ACJS certified, UT’s criminology and criminal justice department must now meet both the university standards and ACJS standards. Colleges get certified to ensure that they