Jan. 14, 2020

Inspiring Teacher: Carol A. Archbold, professor of criminal justice

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Carol Archbold is intrigued by the criminal justice system, and she loves to share her expertise with students. Archbold, who is a professor in the Department of Criminal Justice and Political Science, joined the NDSU faculty in 2005. She teaches courses focused on policing and research methods. Her research interests include police accountability and liability, police misconduct, and race and gender issues in the criminal justice system.

She received the 2018 Outstanding Mentor Award from the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, Walter F. and Verna Gehrts Endowed Professorship for 2015-2017 at NDSU, 2013 Chamber of Commerce NDSU Distinguished Faculty Service Award and the 2011 Outstanding Research/Creative Activity Award for the NDSU College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences.

How do you reach out to students?

I talk to undergraduate students before and after class to build rapport with them so that they feel comfortable approaching me with any comments, questions or concerns. When students identify examples or current events during class, I often try to find journal articles or news articles that are relevant to their example and email the material to the entire class. My hope is that this demonstrates to the students that I care about their contributions to the class, and that I think about their contributions outside of class time. I also identify students who demonstrate potential for pursuing post-baccalaureate degrees, such as law and graduate degrees. When graduate students talk about their research interests or appear to be interested a topic, I try to provide an opportunity for them to become involved in research projects, or I will try to connect them with another professor who shares similar research interests. My goal is to inspire students to be excited about their education.

• Describe how the teacher-student connection is unique.

Both parties bring something different to the classroom. My role is to teach students about various policing issues and how to conduct research in criminal justice and criminology. In addition to presenting and discussing empirical research with my students, I also incorporate my professional experiences from the field, which provides real-world examples to the topics. Students play an important role in the classroom as they provide questions and comments that generate more in-depth discussions. They also provide personal experiences or current events that are relevant to many of the topics discussed in my courses. Each semester brings a new group of students with unique perspectives.

 

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