What makes the criminal justice program at The College of Saint Rose stand out from others?
“The field of criminal justice is a multidisciplinary profession. People from many professions come together to work on the response to crime and its victims. Not only does our program present the opportunity to study responses to crime, but we also examine criminal/deviant behavior and why people abstain from crime. Using a multidisciplinary approach, students realize that crime is not just an enforcement problem.
The best way for a student to learn and retain information is to apply concepts to real-life events. Since criminal justice is always at the forefront of the media and great concern to the public, we provide ways for students to understand the world around them. We also encourage internships so that students learn first-hand what certain careers entail.”
– Excerpt from Our Q&A with Dr. Lane
Dr. Christina Lane, Program Director
Dr. Christina Lane, who joined the Saint Rose forensic science faculty in 2006, is a multiple-year honoree in America’s Who’s Who Teachers of Excellence. She is the primary instructor for criminal behavior and criminology classes and a leader of the Cold Case Center faculty team. Her research interests include stress, coping, violence, post-traumatic stress and victims of crime, and sex offenders.
She earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology and her master’s degree in sociology with a specialization in criminology at the University of Alberta in Canada. Dr. Lane has also earned a master’s degree in criminal justice and a Ph.D. with a specialization in the nature of crime and planned change of criminals from the University at Albany.
Dr. Christopher Kunkle, Advisor
Dr. Christopher Kunkle is a forensic psychologist and criminal investigation consultant with more than 21 years in the field of criminal investigation. He serves in an advisory role for the Cold Case Center faculty.
As an expert on violent and sexual crimes, he provides a unique combination of training and experience to the forensic science professors and students analyzing violent criminal behavior in unsolved case investigations.
Using classic criminal investigation techniques along with analysis of the behavioral dynamics of violent offenders and victimology, Dr. Kunkle constructs offender profiles and offers recommendations on offense dynamics that help the team reconstruct the crime scene.
Recognized for his innovative work in the management of sexually violent predators, Dr. Kunkle has evaluated more than a thousand violent and sexual offenders throughout the United States. He has also published articles on stalking, violence risk assessment, and violent sexual disorders.
- Part of the adjunct forensic science faculty at The College of Saint Rose since 2010, Dr. Kunkle has taught courses on sexually deviant behavior, criminal profiling, serial crimes, criminal behavior, and forensic psychology.
- He is currently vice president of the American Investigative Society of Cold Cases.
- Dr. Kunkle is the former director and chief psychiatric examiner for the Bureau of Institutional Sex Offender Treatment for the State of New York and a former forensic scientist for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.