2024 YEAR IN REVIEW
The Office of Comparative and International Education and Leadership (OCIEL), launched this past year by the College of Criminal Justice (COCJ), is a dynamic initiative to advance and promote international engagement for students, faculty, and institutes, aligning with the strategic priorities of COCJ and the university. Working closely with the Global Engagement Center (GEC), academic departments - students and faculty, and external partners, OCIEL enhances and strengthens COCJ and SHSU’s commitment to student success and global outreach. OCIEL boosts the university’s global visibility and reputation through innovative education partnerships, professional exchanges, and expanded engagement with international partners. Additionally, COCJ through OICIEL are expanding study abroad programs, international student mentorship, and opportunities for visiting scholars and delegations.
March 2024
• OCIEL was established. Doug Dretke was hired and named Director.
April 2024
• Director General Dan Halchin and Deputy Director General Ioana Morar of the Romanian Penitentiary Administration invited Doug to travel to Romania to participate in two rehabilitation/reentry project conferences funded by Norwegian grants. Doug traveled with President Denise Robinson of the American Correctional Association (ACA).
• Patricia Macias-Fisher joined OCIEL as the Project Coordinator.
• Participated in and attended the COCJ End-of-Year Bash.
• Participated in International Student Week with the GEC.
• Bitna Kim was announced as the Faculty Director of International Initiatives and a part of the OCIEL team.
April/May 2024
• Doug and Patricia met with leadership and staff within the COCJ, the Criminal Justice Center (CJC), and the GEC to introduce our new office and establish alignment and opportunities to serve as a resource for international initiatives.
May 2024
• Doug and Patricia met with professors who had previously participated in a Faculty-Led Study Abroad Program (Drs. Roth and Denham) to gain their perspectives and insight.
• Doug, Patricia, and Bitna met with Kim Foster, Communication Specialist, COCJ, to develop an article announcing the establishment of OCIEL: SHSU College of Criminal Justice Launches International Education and Leadership Office.
• Doug attended a Czech American Cooperation in Higher Education meeting and networking event with universities in the Czech Republic with Associate Provost Chad Hargrave and Chief Strategy Officer Dave Glaser. Doug met with the Czech Ambassador to the US, Miloslav Stasek.
• Doug and General Dave Glaser traveled to North Carolina to provide keynote presentations at a Leadership Symposium for the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction.
• Doug and Patricia began meeting International Students in COCJ to gain perspectives and insight into their experiences thus far at SHSU and within COCJ.
June 2024
• Patricia began to assist Dr. Heather Alaniz-Salas, Director of Internship and Career Services, with student experiential learning opportunities.
• Patricia and Doug worked with Dr. Jurg Gerber (Former Faculty Director of International Initiatives) and the GEC to learn the processes required to host visiting scholars.
June/July 2024
• Patricia assisted Doris Pratt, Director of Student, Community, and Alumni Development, and Luke Putnam, Student Engagement & Recruitment Specialist, for all Criminal Justice Summer Camp sessions. This experience was great for connecting with potential students and working with other CJ Staff and various agencies.
• Doug and General Dave Glaser were invited and attended an event in Houston with Czech President Petr Pavel.
August 2024
• Bumhee Lee, a visiting scholar from South Korea, arrived at SHSU to spend five months with COCJ.
• Doug and Patricia attended the ACA Conference, participated in the ACA International Committee (Doug is a member), and participated in the International Corrections Prison Association (ICPA)– North America Chapter (Doug is a Board Member, and Patricia took the minutes).
At the ACA Conference, Doug was awarded the ER Cass – ACA’s highest award in corrections.
(Pictures below from L to R) Doug and Patricia, Patricia with April Zamora and Kristina Hartman, Patricia with ICPA-NA President, Diane Williams ACA’s President Denise Robinson, and Dr. Lannette Linthicum Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ), ACA’s Executive Director Rob Green, Group picture to include General Glaser.
• Doug and Patricia met with Jonnathan De la Fuente, the newly elected Director of the GEC, and Dr. Christine Cardinal, the Executive Director of Experiential Learning, to develop and establish our alignment and relationships with the GEC and OCIEL.
• Pancakes with Professors student event (Patricia collaborated with other COCJ staff). This was a fantastic opportunity for professors to engage with our students. Over 200 students attended the event.
• COCJ-Student Success Office hosting a teambuilding retreat.
August/September 2024
• Doug attended the Annual International Corrections and Prison Association (ICPA) conference in Singapore, where he chaired the Staff Training and Professional Development Network meeting (as Deputy Chair of the Network), presented and moderated in several workshops, met with Senior Corrections Advisors – US Department of State – International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL). (Pictures below from L to R) Commissioner Shie Yong Lee, Singapore Prison Service and Rehabilitation and Reentry Director April Zamora, TDCJ, Richard Robinson and Shannon McReynolds, Senior Correction Advisors - State Dept. INL, Dr. Danielle Rudes awarded the ICPA Excellence in Research Award, Doug presenting at a workshop.
• Doug attended and presented at the annual conference of the Association of Caribbean Heads of Corrections and Prison Services in Nassau, Bahamas (Pictures below from L to R) Executive leadership from across the Caribbean presented with Dr. Erin Orrick and Dr. Reggie Wilkinson, current executive leadership in Trinidad Tobago, Suriname, and US Virgin Island - all former graduates of the Executive Leadership Program delivered by SHSU.
September 2024
• Organized participation in the SHSU Homecoming Parade and recruited GEC partnership. This event was fantastic, and the international students enjoyed it. Our office plans to make this an annual event.
• Met with International Student Organization (ISO) Officers and started OCIEL/COCJ support for the ISO. Our office has provided financial support and marketing their events to increase attendance. Patricia also attended the new international student orientation with the GEC to learn the process. Doug and Patricia became mentors to students.
• We met with faculty members in all departments of COCJ to introduce ourselves and our role in supporting international initiatives and encourage them to consider a Faculty-Led Study Abroad Program with OCIEL serving as a resource.
• Delivered a Correctional Leadership program in our partnership with the US Department of State – INL to correctional professionals from Guatemala and Costa Rica. This program was delivered in collaboration with the TDCJ and included visits to various correctional facilities and provided various agency partnership engagements.
September/October 2024
• Hosted 10 officers from the Korean National Police Agency for one month. This program included collaboration with many agencies to provide a program focusing on law enforcement responses to domestic violence and crimes against vulnerable populations, including elder and child abuse. We had the opportunity to partner with various agencies, and some of our COCJ international students were able to engage with the group during their time here. Dr. Mary Breaux was outstanding in providing our office with excellent connections to deliver this program.
October 2024
• Attended the SHSU 9th Annual International Student Welcome Celebration. This was an incredible opportunity to engage with many international students and faculty. Many great conversations and suggestions were made to make SHSU a better experience for our international students.
• Zoom meetings with Jessica Miller (Study Abroad with GEC) and with a few faculty members who have shown strong interest in leading students abroad.
• SHSU/College participation on Halloween with the “Cereal Killers”
November 2024
• Hosted a delegation from the Polish National Police (including their Deputy Commander) for 10 days. This visit was a collaboration with many agencies (including Brazos County and Montgomery County District Attorney offices, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Texas Rangers). Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas (LEMIT), Institute for Homeland Security (IHS), and Forensic Science Department (IFRTI, STAFS) all worked with OCIEL to host the delegation and created opportunities for continued and future collaboration and engagement. The delegation and OCIEL staff were hosted by the Polish Consulate (Houston) for an event and dinner during the program,
• While visiting with agencies like the Montgomery County RealtyBased Training Center (RBTC), the idea of an internship opportunity was discussed, and the RBTC director and the SHSU-COCJ Internship Director were connected.
• Hosted an International Student Friendsgiving potluck with the ISO. This was a well-attended event by SHSU international students.
• Planning and hotel reservations were discussed for the upcoming 2025 programs in March: Guatemala, Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Honduras. June: Guatemala, Costa Rica, and maybe Mexico and July: Executive Program-Morocco.
• Patricia & Doris met with Katherine Ho from the Department of State, Office of Foreign Missions. Doris did a fantastic job explaining the history of the CJ Building and giving an excellent tour. Both Christine Cardinal and Katherine Ho were impressed.
December 2024
• Doug delivered a correctional leadership program in Namibia for the Namibia Correctional Service in collaboration with ICPA and OCIEL.
January 2025
• Doug and Patricia attended the ACA Conference, participated in the ACA International Committee, and attended the ICPA—North America Chapter Board Meeting, where Doug was elected as Secretary, and Patricia took the minutes.
• During the ACA, we met with the Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Mexico delegations to discuss future training needs and opportunities with the US Department of State—INL.
• We facilitated a meeting with CEU University of San Pablo, Madrid, Spain, to explore MOU potentials. Dr. Bitna Kim and Dr. Magdalena Denham joined us for our initial virtual meeting.
• We connected the internship office with the TDCJ Auditor’s office to provide numerous interns.
• Patricia and Dr. Heather Alaniz-Salas attended a SHSU FirstGeneration Mixer and spoke with a few students about internship possibilities.
• Met with Namibia University of Science and Technology and the ICPA to explore collaboration opportunities as they develop a bachelor’s degree in Corrections.
• Dr. Bitna Kim with OCIEL hosted a Meet and Greet with COCJ International Faculty.
February 2025
• We met with Faculty interested in developing Faculty-Led Study Abroad programs. We have begun connecting our faculty to people in Germany and Spain to further program development. In the summer of 2026, COCJ plans to offer Faculty-Led Study Abroad Programs in Germany, Spain, and Poland.
• Doug attended an event with the TDCJ, the United Kingdom Lord Chancellor (equivalent to the U.S. Attorney General and Secretary of State) and U.K. Secretary of State for Justice for a conversation about the innovation happening in Texas.
• Dr. Bitna Kim and Doug were asked to serve on SHSU’s GEC advisory board by Dr. Christine Cardinal.
• Conversations for establishing MOUs with two universities in Taiwan.
• We are continuing to meet with our International Students. In coordination with TDCJ, our Office organized visits to substance use treatment centers for a few of our graduate students and COCJ faculty.
• Conversations and planning have begun to host another group of police officers from the Korean National Police Agency and follow up on collaboration with the delegation from the Polish National Police.
• There is more to come…