Recognizing John Jay College Of Criminal Justice

Floor Speech

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Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I rise today to congratulate John Jay College of Criminal Justice on the occasion of their 50th anniversary.

Located in the cultural heart of New York City, John Jay College is one of the Nation's leading liberal arts institutions of higher education with a mission of ``educating for justice.'' For 50 years, John Jay College has produced leaders, scholars, and heroes in policing, including forensic science, law, fire and emergency management, social work, teaching, private security, forensic psychology, and corrections. As an international leader in educating for justice, John Jay offers a rich liberal arts and professional studies curriculum to upwards of 15,000 undergraduate and graduate students from more than 135 nations, including over 47 percent first-generation students and more than 500 veterans. John Jay College is ranked No. 3 in the Nation as a ``Best for Vet'' institution by Military Times in their 2015 national college rankings of 600 universities and colleges.

In the 1960s, a small and dedicated group of academic visionaries came together to develop a plan for a new college named the College of Police Science within the City University of New York. Within a year, the college was renamed the John Jay College of Criminal Justice to reflect broader aspirations and achievements in criminal justice, leadership, and public service. John Jay was the first Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court and served as Governor of our great State of New York. The college opened in 1965 with 1,000 students and one major.

The challenges and hard work envisioned when John Jay College was created continue today. John Jay College is a critical part of New York. The spirit of John Jay College of Criminal Justice can be found in its students, Pulitzer Prize-winning faculty, and enthusiastic administrators who form a, civic-minded community of motivated and intellectually curious individuals committed to public service and global citizenship.

For example, earlier this year, the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations, NECO, established a scholarship at John Jay College in memory of New York City Police Department Detectives Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu, who lost their lives in December 2014 while serving the citizens of New York. The scholarship was announced on March 11 during the college's NYPD alumni reception held in celebration of the longstanding partnership and collaboration with the NYPD. Of course, September 11, 2001 had a profound impact on the campus and served as a catalyst to honor the 67 students, faculty, and alumni who lost their lives that day. John Jay established a variety of initiatives, programs, research centers, scholarships, including the creation of the Center on Terrorism to study global terrorism and the Christian Regenhard Center for Emergency Response Studies, named after a probationary firefighter killed at the World Trade Center. As one of the leading institutions in the country in the field of criminal justice and public safety, John Jay College is one of the few institutions to offer M.A. students a certificate in the critical study of terrorism.

John Jay College's commitment to diversity is shown by the fact that it has the highest Hispanic enrollment of any 4-year college in the Northeastern United States, and it has ranked No. 1 in the Nation in awarding bachelor's degree in protective services, No. 3 in psychology degrees, and No. 7 in public administration. John Jay's undergraduate, graduate and doctoral forensic degree programs are top ranking. The College's Master of Public Administration programs recently received the Diversity and Social Equity Awards by the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs and Administration. The nationally recognized Program for Research Initiatives in Science and Math, PRISM, at John Jay College engages underrepresented students in careers in science and math by providing an opportunity for them to participate in faculty-mentored scientific research in areas like molecular biology, toxicology, criminalistics and computer science, and partake in professional research conferences while completing their degree. Since its inception, graduation numbers from the College's science majors have tripled, and the number of students, and especially underrepresented minority students, moving on to doctoral and medical degrees has grown five-fold.

John Jay's faculty personify excellence--they include Pulitzer Prize winners, Presidential scholars, recipients of prestigious book awards, presidents of leading professional organizations, and editors of prominent scholarly journals. They have been recognized by their peers and even by the White House for their dedication to teaching, research, and mentoring. The college's students regularly win prestigious scholarships, including the Marshal Scholarship, internships, including the White House Internship, and fellowships, including Fulbright, JK Watson and the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. They are also accepted to high-profile graduate and professional schools. Their alumni number more than 54,000, many of whom hold leadership roles in public sector agencies, including the United States Marshals Service, the FBI, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the National Parks Service, the State Department, Peace Corps, the United Nations, and private companies in the United States and worldwide.

Affordability is an essential component of the college's core mission. At a time when over 37 million Americans are saddled with over $1 trillion in student debt, John Jay College was recently named one of the top 10 colleges where students graduate with the least debt. Only 20 percent of John Jay students were compelled to borrow money to finance their college education, less than one-third of the national average. And the vast majority of John Jay students graduate debt-free--enabling them to become successful in service for others without having to spend years paying off their student loans. In fact John Jay College was recently ranked No. 4 in the ``Best Bang for the Buck'' in the Northeast rankings in Washington Monthly's College guide.

John Jay develops fierce advocates for justice--each committed every day to building a better democracy. I am proud to represent John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the values that it stands for and works for every day. Congratulations to John Jay College on this very important day and its 50-year record of fighting for justice.

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