Dr. W. Thomas Beckner will direct criminal justice and emergency management programs at TSU Fort Wayne when its School of Professional Studies introduces a bachelor’s degree with a major in emergency management and a master’s degree in criminal justice this fall. Beckner will also monitor the programs across all TSU adult programs and instruct in the disciplines as an associate professor.

A professor, author, consultant, video producer, and frequent trainer at conferences, Beckner is an expert in criminal justice and prison ministry. He brings a broad range of academic and professional experience to his SPS position.

He earned a doctor of philosophy degree with an emphasis on linguistics at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, after earning master’s degrees in criminal justice and English at Georgia State University in Atlanta and Kent State University in Kent, Ohio. He earned a bachelor’s degree in English and speech at Milligan College in Milligan College, Tenn.

Since 2004, he has served as assistant vice president of ministry for Good News Jail & Prison Ministry in Richmond, Va., overseeing all recruiting, training, and institutional ministry plans for jail and prison chaplains in 22 states.

From 2000-2004, he headed the justice studies department at Taylor University in Fort Wayne, chairing the department and coordinating the Midwest’s first regional restorative justice conference. He also served as director of the Center for Justice and Urban Leadership at Taylor in Fort Wayne three years prior to that time.

He has published frequently in Restorative Justice Journal, including the articles “Partnering as an Art Form,” “The Church: Missing Link for a Restorative Model,” and “The Challenge Before Us.” He also co-edited Effective Jail and Prison Ministry for the 21st Century for Coalition of Prison Evangelists (COPE).

He has consulted for the Colorado Department of Corrections, the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles, and the National Institute of Corrections Technical Assistance. His video series have focused on training for correctional counselors, citizens and offenders, and correctional volunteers.

He looks forward to his role at SPS and in the community. “Fort Wayne is the place we’ve felt the most at home, so it’s nice to come back,” he said. “I’m really enthused about getting involved again.”