Death of the Ayn Rand Scholar by Gray Cavender (classic literature list txt) 📕

thesis, which I then extended for my MS project. I don’t think I could have written a new thesis from scratch…so the continuity is what made it doable.”

“And, that was the project that got you into the Tempe PD, right?”

“Yes…the culture of women in policing.”

Who’d a thought…you’d go from that… to this…Detective Sergeant Warne…working a murder case…with an ASU prof as the vic.”

“Who, indeed?” She was quite, then, “You know, Wes, I still wonder…”

“If you should have left Tempe PD and gone with ASU? I know…I think about it, too, since I’m the one who encouraged you to make the change. But, Jilly, this was such a no brainer. Remember, you were worried about getting promoted to sergeant…needlessly, I think,” he pointed at her, “but you were…and then you had reservations about the patrol thing. Bottom line, you get promoted to detective sergeant as an incentive to go with ASU. I mean, think about it, you skipped a rank and on top of that, you didn’t have to take either board…for sergeant or for detective sergeant. Do you have any idea how long that would have taken if you’d stayed at Tempe? You’re good at this, Jilly, don’t get me wrong…but still, you would have been a long time in rank. Instead,” he held his hands palms up, “just over three years in, and you’re already a DS.”

“I know. But, Wes, I’m a campus cop.”

“Yes, you are...a campus cop…who is working a murder investigation…as a Detective Sergeant.”

“Still…”

“Still…and you know what else…remember, we talked about this…maybe after a year or two you should think about starting a PhD program. I’ll bet ASU gives some kind of a discount on classes if you work there.”

Jillian grimaced, “I’m not cut out to be a professor, Wes.”

“Being a professor isn’t why I always mention getting a PhD. In the modern world of police…”

“In the modern world of police,” she interrupted, finishing his sentence, “education is a ticket to success. See, I’ve memorized your mantra.”

“Joke all you want. But remember, Phoenix’s chief is working on her doctorate. Linda Timms, your guardian angel at Tempe PD…Linda’s working on her doctorate. Our chief has her MS. You have a talent for this work, Jilly…and I think that down the road, you’d make a good chief.

“I wish I had as much confidence in me as you have in me,” she said and grimaced again.

“Yeah, right…you have plenty of confidence, Jilly…you’re as confident as anybody I know…you just worry too much.”

“Busted,” she said and laughed. “And speaking of Chief McCaslin, how’s she working out?”

“So far so good, I think. Of course, some of the troglodytes who can’t take orders from a woman roll out the usual objections. You know, the sorts of stereotypes about woman officers detailed in an interesting article in Feminist Criminology. But, my point…”

“Wait a second. Wes, when did you read my article, the one I did with Carolyn, Professor Patek?”

“Of course, I read it. I remember you’d said something about it back when you and your advisor first decided to try and publish it. It took a long time for you guys to get it ready, and an even longer time for it to be published after they finally accepted it.”

“I forgot that we’d talked about it…I think some of it was happening when I was moving over to ASU PD.”

“Right…anyway, you did a good job. The research is smart, and the paper is actually readable…OK, it has more intellectual jargon than Professor Keefer’s comments, but, still…”

“How’d you find it?”

“Googled it…actually, I googled you and found a listing for your article in that journal…and read it online.”

“That’s so nice, Wes. Thank you.”

He laughed again. “I really do think it’s a nice piece of work, Jilly. And, it’s what I was getting at a minute ago. A grad degree, publishing a policing article in a research journal…all that would look good on a resume of someone who’s being considered for an admin position. It’s a different trajectory…it’d make you stand out.”

“You really are serious, aren’t you?”

“Not next week, not next year, but down the road, yes. Think about this, OK…back in the day Congress made money available through the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration—the LEAA—to help students pay for college and major in criminal justice…or actually major in whatever…didn’t even have to be criminal justice. The thinking was that an educated police department would make for a better police department. On issues of diversity, tolerance, discretion…a whole range of issues that are relevant to being a cop.”

“I never heard about this, when was it?”

“This was back in the late 60s, early 70s…way before your time…it was before my time too. I read about it in a course in Crime Policy.”

“Well, that makes sense…that you’d be taking crime policy courses. I remember you said you were a Criminal Justice major, just in a Public Administration program.”

“That’s right. At the U of A, the CJ degree was in Public Administration. At least when I was there…now it’s moved to a different school…Government and Public Policy…I think. Anyway, so I majored in Public Administration, but had a lot of CJ courses. And I read about the LEAA in a course on crime policy. The program was supposed to help students get college degrees. Didn’t matter whether the students already were cops or were wannabes.”

“Really?”

Wes nodded. “LEAA started during President Johnson’s day, and continued during Tricky Dick’s time. You know, President Nixon?”

“I know who Tricky Dick was, Wes. I had courses in ancient history,” she laughed, more relaxed now, and toasted him.

He smiled and nodded. “As I was about to say, there’s some continuity with now. Back then, there were lots of criticisms of the criminal justice system, especially of the police…sound familiar? And…” he talked over Jillian, “what you probably don’t know is that your beloved Justice Studies program started back then under the LEAA…it was originally a Criminal Justice program at ASU.”

“No way.”

“Oh yeah. It was.”

“That makes me laugh when I think about the Justice Studies faculty. Some of