U-WIRE-01/27/2006-U. Mississippi: Homeland security major now available at U. Mississippi (C) 2006 Daily Mississippian Via U-WIRE
By Fred D. McGhee, Daily Mississippian (U. Mississippi)
OXFORD, Miss. -- The University of Mississippi is the only university in the state to offer a major in legal studies with an emphasis in homeland security. The homeland security major has only been offered in the past year but has quickly garnered respect.
The department of legal studies is composed of paralegal studies, criminal justice and court reporting. Court reporting is currently being phased out. The three divisions were combined in 2002. Legal studies is now the second-largest department under the school of applied sciences.
"The decision to bring these three components together into a department laid the foundation and established a new generation by building on the success of those three programs," said David H. McElreath, department chair and professor of legal studies.
The legal studies department has an enrollment of 360 students, with homeland security currently making up between 30 and 40 of those students. There are plans to start a master's program in homeland security in another year.
"This is a great program. It's the top program of its kind in the South," said Peter Lantz, a sophomore criminal justice major with an emphasis in homeland security. "This program will attract a lot of people and will be well-known nationwide in a matter of time."
"What we have on the undergraduate level is a very solid curriculum to expose students to the different aspects of homeland security," McElreath said. "We are building a knowledge foundation."
McElreath, a graduate of Ole Miss and a retired U.S. Marine Corps colonel, said they offered accelerated classes in homeland security on the weekends. The weekend classes are taught by professors who bring real-world experience that will provide a broader range of education for students.
"The professor we have teaching the weekend class has a law degree from Harvard and is retired from the Marine Corps as a colonel. He lives in Dallas, so we can't get him in here to teach on Tuesday or Thursday, but we can get him here on weekends. He can bring to our students the same things a high-profile guest speaker would, but he's willing to teach," McElreath said.
The number of students in the program has increased more than three times over the past two years.
The increase has not raised any thoughts of expansion within the program.
"The template used is the same that is used for the law enforcement and corrections. We do not anticipate the core of the program to be expanded or radically changed anytime soon," McElreath said. "We're building a knowledge foundation, career awareness and ethical responsibilities. We are trying to cover the spectrum of threat responses and the way operations are handled."
The program offers updated training for law enforcement personnel.
Law enforcement officers can get certification in homeland security.
"We recently received several hundred thousands of dollars to help provide training for law enforcement officers, but our primary responsibility is in educating the students in homeland security and that is our focus," said Chester Quarles, professor of criminal justice.
The issue of homeland security, particularly wiretapping, has become popular in the news lately. When asked about the subject, McElreath wasn't sure that enough information was available to make an informed decision.
"I will wait until the Senate hearings before I form an opinion. I'm not sure if the president broke the law or if he did or didn't get a warrant for surveillance. There just isn't enough credible information out yet," McElreath said.
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