Criminal Justice Faculty

Criminal Justice Faculty

From left to right: Al Price, Bill Perrill, Phil Reichel, Colleen Fitzpatrick, Mary West-Smith, and Theresa Lane

Full Time

At present there are four full-time faculty members in the Criminal Justice program. The following profiles provide a brief introduction to each.

Philip Reichel

Philip Reichel received his M.A. and Ph.D. in Sociology from Kansas State University. After working for a few years as a counselor at the Nebraska Correctional Complex in Lincoln, he decided teaching was more to his liking and accepted a position at Augusta College (now Augusta State University) in Augusta, Georgia. In 1983 he accepted a position at the University of Northern Colorado and has been here since that Fall semester. His areas of teaching, research, and writing expertise include comparative justice systems and the broad area of corrections. Professor Reichel has published twenty articles in several professional journals over the last thirty years and is the author of two textbooks; Comparative Criminal Justice Systems: A Topical Approach (Prentice Hall), and Introduction to Corrections (Allyn & Bacon). He is also the editor of the Handbook of Transnational Crime & Justice (Sage). His comparative justice interests have resulted in invitations to speak at universities throughout Europe and at several universities in the U.S. He recently served as the International Section Chair in the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences.

Colleen Fitzpatrick

Colleen Fitzpatrick holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from Colorado State University and a Master of Arts in Applied Sociology from California State University, Northridge.  She has been on faculty at UNC since 1993.  Dr.  Fitzpatrick is an Air Force veteran, has more than 25 years experience in applied research and program evaluation, and specializes in applied research and statistics.  She is the author or co-author of several original research and evaluation publications.  Her current professional activities focus on bringing theory to practice in such areas as Problem Oriented Policing, best practices for Community Policing, and in working with criminal justice agencies in developing and implementing evaluation protocols and standards.  Her scholarly interests are quite eclectic and include Victimology, Problem Oriented Policing, and Criminal Justice Ethics.

Bill Perrill

Bill Perrill is a graduate of Northern Arizona University and Bowling Green State University with degrees in Sociology/Criminology. He retired from the Federal Bureau of Prisons in 2000 after a 29-year career. The last 14 years he was the Warden of 5 different facilities. He was appointed to the Senior Executive Service of the United States in 1999, which is the highest level a federal employee can achieve. He presented many training sessions for regional and national conferences on leadership and prison management. Mr. Perrill began teaching at UNC in 2001 as an adjunct instructor and since fall of 2002 has been a full-time faculty member. His areas of interest are in corrections, correctional administration, and criminological theory.

Mary West-Smith

A native of Colorado, Mary West-Smith obtained all of her degrees from Colorado institutions of higher education. She received her Master of Criminal Justice and her Ph.D. in Public Affairs, with a concentration in criminal justice administration and policy, from the University of Colorado at Denver. Prior to joining the University of Northern Colorado Criminal Justice faculty in 2005, she worked on several governmental research projects and taught part-time at Metropolitan State College of Denver's Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology. She also has experience working with victims of child abuse, at-risk juveniles, and incarcerated adults. Her current research interests focus on corrections, families of incarcerated individuals, and policies and practices concerning prisoners returning to society.

Lyda Ellis Lyda Ellis

Lyda Ellis received her MA and M.L.I.S. from the University of Alabama. She is an Assistant Professor at the James A. Michener Library and is the librarian for Criminal Justice. If you need help with your papers or projects in Criminal Justice please contact Lyda to set up an appointment.

 

Theresa Lane

Theresa Lane is the Administrative Assistant for the Criminal Justice Program, School of Human Sciences and has been employed with the University of Northern Colorado since March 2007. A Colorado State employee since 1985, Theresa previously worked for the Colorado Health Sciences Center and the Department of Revenue in Denver. She enjoys working with faculty and students, and being in an academic setting.

Adjunct Faculty

Alan PriceAlan Price

Alan Price received his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Criminology from California State University - Fresno and was awarded his Masters Degree in Sociology, with an emphasis on social research, from Idaho State University in 1980. In 2003, after a thirty year career in law enforcement, Alan retired from law enforcement. He has over 20 years of specialized training and experience investigating sexual assaults and homicide. Mr. Price is an Active Life Member of the International Association for Identification where he is a certified Senior Crime Scene Analyst. Additionally he has been a member of the American Academy of Forensic Science since 2001. Mr. Price is the Program Director for the Southern Institute of Forensic Science, and he coordinates and delivers specialized classes in criminal forensics across the nation, including UNC.

Ricky BrandtRicky Brandt

Ricky Brandt attended Metropolitan State College until he was hired by the Aurora Police Department in 1981. He completed his Bachelor degree in Business Administration from Columbia College in 1999 and received a Masters degree from the University of Colorado at Denver in Criminal Justice with a certificate in Police Executive Leadership in 2005. During his tenure at the Aurora Police Department, he rose through the ranks and retired in 2007 as Commander of Major Crime/Homicide. Shortly after retiring from Aurora, he accepted the position of Chief of Police in Evans, Colorado. As an adjunct instructor, he brings with him over three decades of professional experience and specialized training in all levels of law enforcement.

Jim BurackJim Burack

Jim Burack holds an A.B. degree from Dartmouth College, a J.D. from the University of Colorado, and a Master of Criminal Justice from the Graduate School of Public Affairs at the University of Colorado-Denver. He is Chief of Police in Milliken, Colorado. Previously he was Counsel and Director of Operations with the Police Executive Research Forum, Washington, DC. A Lieutenant Colonel in the Marine Corps Reserve, he is currently assigned as a liaison officer to FEMA Region VIII in Denver. Previous combat tours include working in Ramadi, Iraq with the judiciary in Anbar Province in 2004-05, and leading a civil affairs team during operations in Kosovo in 1999. A judge advocate, he has served with the Department of Defense Inspector General, as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney in Santa Ana, California, and as a Marine Corps prosecutor in Southern California. He is active in the Weld County law enforcement community as a member of the Community Corrections and Communications Boards. He is a co-author of Command Performance: A Career Guide for Police Executives. As an adjunct instructor, Mr. Burack brings with him a wealth of experience and training in law enforcement, military justice, and emergency response planning and operations.

Cori Dee Buggeln

Cory Buggein

Cori Buggeln received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology with a minor in communications from the University of Northern Colorado in 1999. She received her Master of Arts degree in Criminal Justice, with a minor in educational management from New Mexico State University in 2007. Additionally, she completed the Aims Police Academy in 2001. She currently serves as the Criminal Justice Advisory Chair for Aims Community College and teaches classes at Aims and UNC. At Aims, she teaches classes in the criminal justice degree program and the Police Academy. She has also worked as a DUI Assessor, Substance Abuse Counselor, and Juvenile Probation Officer. As an adjunct instructor, Ms. Buggein, brings with her experience and training in law enforcement, probation, and substance abuse treatment.

Christine Harms

Christine Harms

Christine Harms holds a bachelor's degree in psychology with an education concentration from Muhlenberg College and a Master of Science degree in counseling and human services from Villanova University. She has a private psychotherapy practice in Longmont, and is the training coordinator for the Colorado Organization for Victim Assistance. Christine has a wealth of experience and training in victim services having served as a counselor, group facilitator, trainer, and therapist. She was also the education director for a nonprofit agency dedicated to prevention and the therapeutic treatment of child sexual abuse victims. From 2000 to 2005 she was the co-coordinator of a school response center training hundreds of professionals to respond to school crisis. As an adjunct instructor, Ms. Harms, brings with her a wealth of information and experience working with victims and victim assistance programs.

  • Criminal Justice
  • Gunter Hall 1250 Campus Box 147
  • University of Northern Colorado
  • Greeley, CO 80639
  • (970) 351-2186
  • (970) 351-1255 FAX