Criminal Justice Faculty
Criminal Justice Faculty
Professor, Department Chair
Tahlequah - Wilson Hall 322
fitzgebr@nsuok.edu
Dr. Brett Fitzgerald has been teaching at Northeastern State University (NSU) in Tahlequah, OK since July, 2006. Prior to his faculty position he spent ten-years as a Juvenile Justice Specialist with the Oklahoma Office of Juvenile Affairs (OJA) and is considered one of the State of Oklahoma's Juvenile Justice Policy experts. Dr. Fitzgerald received his Master's in Criminal Justice Administration and Bachelors of Arts degrees from Northeastern State University. He received his Ph.D. in Juvenile Justice Policy from the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.
He has served as Chairman of the Youth Council for the Eastern Oklahoma Workforce Investment Board, a team member for the Youth Drunk Driving Program through Integris Health in Oklahoma City, has served on the OJA Casework Excellence Initiative (CEI) Task Force, and the CEI Policy Task Force. Dr. Fitzgerald has been a panel presenter to the Oklahoma Governor's Council on Youth, the Oklahoma Bar Association, and numerous regional and national organizations.
Dr. Fitzgerald has served as the OJA liaison for the Cherokee County Juvenile Drug Court Program. He is the Chairman of the Cherokee County STAR Program. He is a former team member of Cherokee County Systems of Care program and serves on the advisory committee for the Talking Leaves Job Corp program.
Published Work
Dr. Fitzgerald has numerous paper presentations at the Southwestern Academy of Criminal Justice, the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, Consortium of Native American Administrators (CANAR), and National Workforce Investment Department of Labor conferences.
Dr. Fitzgerald is published in Social Science Quarterly, Police Quarterly, The Journal of Rural Social Sciences, and The Contemporary Law and Policy Journal.
Assistant Professor, Coordinator of Homeland Security and Emergency Mgt
Broken Arrow - BALA 160 - Coordinator of CJ Graduate Program
doylera@nsuok.edu
Dr. Rebekah Doyle is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice and Sociology at Northeastern State University (NSU). She has taught for NSU since February, 2012. She received her Ph.D. in Public Health from Walden University and received her M.S. in Emergency Management and Homeland Security from Arkansas Tech University and holds a M.S. in Criminal Justice. Dr. Doyle serves as coordinator for the Homeland Security and Emergency Management Bachelor of Science degree program and for the Certificate of Emergency Management and Planning program.
While working for the Oklahoma State Department of Health, Dr. Doyle served as Homeland Security Region V Emergency Preparedness and Response Bioterrorism nurse. Additionally, she served on the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR), Hospital Preparedness Program(HPP) grant review board. Dr. Doyle is an Oklahoma Public Health Leadership Institute Fellow and is active with the Emergency Preparedness and Response Section of the Oklahoma Public Health Association. Dr. Doyle’s primary areas of interest in research include terrorism, emergency management and disaster preparedness, public health, and public policy.
Published Work
Dr. Doyle has a publication in Scholars’ Press, as well as professional papers and a research in progress.
Explore Dr. Doyle’s Published Work
Perceptions of Emergency Preparedness among Immigrant Hispanics Living in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Dr. James HurstAssistant Professor
Tahlequah - Wilson Hall 321
hurst14@nsuok.edu
Dr. James Hurst started his career as an assistant professor for the Department of Criminal Justice and Sociology at Northeastern State University (NSU) in 2021.
Before coming to NSU, Dr. Hurst held several positions at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock beginning in 2010 as the Higher Education Institute Program Coordinator until 2012. From 2012 to 2014, he served as the Executive Assistant to the Chancellor and from 2014 to 2021, was a faculty instructor for the Department of Criminal Justice.
Published Work
Dr. Hurst has a publication in Crime Prevention and Community Safety titled “Stability in unstable places: Property crime in a campus environment”, as well as a publication in the Journal of Drug Issues titled “Medicate to graduate: Prescription stimulant misuse by college students”.
Explore Dr. Hurst's Published Work
Stability in unstable places: Property crime in a campus environment
Medicate to graduate: Prescription stimulant misuse by college students
Professor
Broken Arrow - BALA 150
wilds@nsuok.edu
Dr. Michael Wilds began at Northeastern State University (NSU) in 1996. Dr. Wilds is a certified Attorney at Law, licensed in Oklahoma, Washington D.C., three federal courts in Oklahoma, and the U.S. Supreme Court, with briefs filed with the U.S. Supreme Court. He has been apart of the NSU Graduate Faculty since 1999 and the NSU-HLC Assurance and Documentation Office since 2013.
Dr. Wilds is presently a Curriculum Review Board member and chair for the Council on Law Enforcement Education Training (CLEET), an editor for the Q&A: The Law Journal of the Criminal Law Section of the Oklahoma Bar Association assistant editor for The Gauntlet (Law Journal), team leader and peer reviewer for the Higher Learning Commission, mentor for Persistence and Completion Academy and the Student Success Academy, director of publications for the Oklahoma Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, grant reviewer for the U.S. Department of Justice OJJDP Tribal Grants, Quality Matters master reviewer, and trainer for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, FLETC.
Published Work
Dr. Wilds has written two books; Quick Reference Guide to Gang Symbols and My Little Green Book. He also has more than 30 peer-reviewed articles in journals such as Police Chief Magazine, Criminal Justice Policy Review, Tulsa Law Journal, and Oklahoma Bar Journal.
Dr. James HallAssociate Professor
Broken Arrow - BALA 154
halljb@nsuok.edu
Dr. James Hall is an associate professor of Criminal Justice for Northeastern State University (NSU). He has taught at NSU since August of 2007 and was awarded NSU Centurion in 2020. Hall has over 30 years law enforcement experience and has been witness to floods, tornadoes, fires, earthquakes, terrorism, war, and even an erupting volcano. Along the way he earned a degree in Philosophy from Oklahoma State University and a law degree from the University of Oklahoma. He continues his interests in terrorism and intelligence studies while teaching Homeland Security and serving his church, Sand Springs UMC, as Volunteer in Mission leader.
Coordinator of Legal Studies, Professor
Broken Arrow - BALA 156
hasselmr@nsuok.edu
Before starting his academic career in 2010, Dr. Ray Hasselman practiced law for over thirty years and served a lengthy term as a First Assistant District Attorney. During his time as First Assistant, his duties included office operations, public and police relations, criminal justice policy concerns, and high-profile cases including death penalty litigation, murder, violent crimes, child abuse, drug manufacturing, sex crimes and other major crimes. Since 2010, he has taught a wide range of undergraduate and graduate courses, served on numerous committees, was responsible for revising the legal studies major, received a Ph.D. from Oklahoma State University, and attained the rank of associate professor.
Dr. Hasselman served many years as an attorney, administrator, trial attorney, and first assistant prosecutor. He has been with the Department of Criminal Justice, Legal Studies, and Homeland Security since August 2010. He serves on the Faculty Council as the Broken Arrow faculty representative. Dr. Hasselman also serves on the Advisory Board for the Paralegal program at Tulsa Community College and as NSU Department representative to the American Association for Paralegal Education. Ray received his J.D. from Tulsa School of Law.
Dr. John ClarkProfessor
Broken Arrow - BALA 158
clarkiii@nsuok.edu
Dr. John Clark has been in academics for a number of years. His research examines the interaction of psychological concepts and principles in the criminal justice system. The centerpiece of his research is jury decision making. Since 2000, Dr. Clark has surveyed and/or interviewed over 30,000 summoned jurors. Currently, he is conducting research on the interaction between psychological principles and criminal justice outcomes. A secondary project is examining the impact neuroscience evidence has on jury outcomes.
His service examples include institutional review board, research council, intellectual property, faculty affairs and graduate council to name a few. His research on juries has led to him being interviewed by the New York Times on several occasions.
Published Work
Dr. Clark has numerous authored and/or co-authored books and publications in journals such as Criminal Justice and Behavior, Law and Human Behavior, Behavioral Sciences & the Law, Law and Psychology Review, the Journal of Criminal Justice, Criminal Law Brief, Criminal Law Bulletin, Texas Hispanic Journal of Law and Policy, Southwest Journal of Criminal Justice, Journal of the Legal Profession, Psychology, Public Policy and Law, Psychiatry, Psychology and Law, Victims and Offenders, and Personality and Mental Health.
Explore Dr. Clark's Published Work
A Mock Juror Investigation of Blame Attribution in the Punishment of Hate Crime Perpetrators
The Moderating Role of Political Orientation
One American perspective on the rights of accused
Boldness and Its Relation to Psychopathic Personality
Same Score, Different Message: Perceptions of Offender
The Role of Emotion and Cognition in Juror Perceptions of Victim Impact Statements
Dr. Stacey WhiteCoordinator of Cybersecurity Program, Assistant Professor
Tahlequah - Wilson Hall 317
white22@nsuok.edu
Dr. Stacey White began at Northeastern State University (NSU) as an assistant professor in April of 2014. Before his teaching career, he served in the United States Marine Corps (USMC) as an infantryman from 1985-1989, as well as an enlisted instructor, MCCDC, for the USMC in Quantico, VA from 1989-1991. Additionally, he has various law enforcement experience serving various roles with the Bixby Police Department (1991-1995), Pawnee County Sheriff’s Drug Task Force (1995-1999), Broken Arrow CPS Security (1996-2000), Kiefer Police Department (2000-2012), and Blanchard Police Department (2015-2022).
Dr. White served as the Criminal Justice Program Director at the Vatterott College (Tulsa Campus) from 2012-2015. He was also a member of the Curriculum Review Board and vice chair for the Council of Law Enforcement Education Training (CLEET), both from 2021-2022.
Published Work
Dr. White has a published book titled “Media V. Police”, as well as several peer-reviewed articles published in journals such as Police1 Magazine, The Gauntlet, Q&A law section, and Roll Call.
Brandon Berryhill
CEL Criminal Justice Outreach Coordinator, Instructor
berryhib@nsuok.edu
Brandon Berryhill is a Criminal Justice Instructor at Northeastern State University. Berryhill has 32 years of practical experience in law enforcement with fifteen years dedicated to executive leadership roles. More specifically, Berryhill spent three decades with the Broken Arrow Police Department where he served the last 7 years as Chief of Police. During his tenure as Chief of Police, he facilitated many public forums on various topics relevant in the law enforcement field today such as mental health reform, crime prevention, human trafficking and domestic violence. He also created the first Citizens Police Academy in Spanish in Oklahoma and secured funding to form a critical response team of mental health professionals and officers. Berryhill is a graduate of the 219th session of the FBI National Academy in Quantico and holds a Bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Central Oklahoma and a Master’s degree in criminal justice from Northeastern State University.
Sociology Program
Dr. Jennifer Edwards
Coordinator of Sociology, Professor of Sociology
Tahlequah - Woods House
wolynetz@nsuok.edu
Dr. Jennifer Edwards received a B.A. in Sociology from California State University, Stanislaus and a M.S. in Criminology from California State University, Fresno. In 2004, she earned a Ph.D. in Sociology from Oklahoma State University. Dr. Edwards’ area of specialization include criminology and social psychology. Specifically, she focuses on issues related to conflict, group relations, and inequality. Dr. Edwards teaches a variety of courses including criminology, sociology of gender, rural sociology, urban sociology, social psychology, social research methods, and sociology of religion. Her research focuses on intergroup conflict, specifically the way ritual behavior is used to obtain or maintain power in various cultural settings. Primarily, Dr. Edwards studies the Orange Order in Northern Ireland and the Notting Hill Carnival in London, U.K. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling and watching movies with her daughter.
Dr. Edwards has served as a faculty member at NSU since 2003. During that time, she has taught courses focusing on several areas within sociology. Further, Dr. Edwards is very honored to be a two-time recipient of the Top Ten RiverHawk Award. She has also received the Jane Addams Award for Outstanding Service from the Midwest Sociological Society, The Sociologists for Women in Society Feminist Mentoring Award, The Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences Minority Mentorship Grant Award, and NSU’s Circle of excellence Award in the area of teaching.