The Catholic College of the South
In April 2023, Belmont Abbey College students participated in the 2nd Annual Undergraduate Research Conference. Click here for a complete list of participants.
Criminal Justice Major, Anna Li, presented her research on the topic, Mental Health Treatment in Correctional Institutions. See her full presentation below.
Author: The Crusader Staff Writer, Anna Li
Have you ever wanted to be a police officer? an investigator? a lawyer? If so, you may want to major in criminal justice. The Criminal Justice program at Belmont Abbey College has been running since August of 2006. Their duty is to educate students about America’s criminal justice system and criminal behavior with the help of experienced professors. All professors have experience in criminal justice and help students see crime from different perspectives, including psychology, biology, and theology.
The Criminal Justice program began with the first Program director, Julia Beeman, PhD, who joined BAC in 2006. The program soon grew into a separate department in 2010. According to Dr. Beeman, this program stands out because “Every faculty member, in addition to being well credentialed academically, are all former practitioners. This helps students learn how theory and philosophy of the justice system are actually applied in law enforcement, courts, and corrections.”
When asked the question, “What do you think is special about the BAC Criminal Justice Department?” a professor that rejoined the school full-time in the fall of 2022, Ann Gleason J.D. answered, “Everyone in the department has actually worked in the criminal justice system. We have had prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, and law enforcement practitioners.” It shows the experience and value that all professors in the department have. It might be appealing to students who are considering this major; it certainly was for me when I was choosing the place to obtain my criminal justice degree.
On the path to graduating, there are opportunities for hands-on experience in different areas of work, related to the criminal justice field. These could also be extra advantageous as some could count for academic credit. There is a double benefit to this: the ability to test received knowledge as well as to assess and experience the framework of possible career paths. A few internship opportunities include the ability to work in local police departments. Moreover, it is also possible to complete an internship in different places that are more related to a student’s career choice. They can work with career advisors on campus to find the most fitting placement.
The Criminal Justice degree offers many different paths for the future. Potential job positions include: police officer, criminal investigator, forensic science technician, forensic accountant, and many more. This degree also provides opportunities to go to law school, if desired, with a good background of the criminal justice system in America.
A student graduating in Criminal Justice this upcoming May, with the goal of becoming a fraud investigator, Ashton Lunsford, answered the same question about what she thinks makes the program special. She said, “I really like that all the professors practiced their knowledge in the field. All of them are able to share useful knowledge and personal experiences as well as guide students through different perspectives.”
If criminal justice is your passion, you should consider joining the program!
This article was originally posted in the Spring of 2023, Issue 1 of The Crusader Newspaper. Download the full issue here.
The pandemic is just one of the many reasons there’s been a mass exodus of nurses leaving their jobs, but now Belmont Abbey College hopes their new nursing program will help ease shortages in our region.
For nurses, burn out is at an all time high. Experts say its going to be a challenge to replenish the nursing workforce, but at Belmont Abbey College, they’re hopeful.
This is an excerpt from an article from The Gaston Gazette, written by Kevin Ellis. Click here to read the original article.
On Tuesday, November 29, many gathered on a tour of Belmont Abbey College to view firsthand the progress of the new nursing program that began in August 2022 at Gaston County’s only four-year college.
CaroMont Health, the parent company of the local hospital and multiple medical offices, partnered with Belmont Abbey College to start the nursing program just as it announced plans in 2019 to build a second hospital now taking shape adjacent to the campus.
CaroMont Cares aims to help the county’s second largest employer, only a hundred or so behind the public school system, take advantage of its investment by creating a pipeline of nursing talent and other medical professionals from Belmont Abbey College into its medical offices and hospitals.
“We’re trying to come up with some way to solve this nursing-shortage problem long term,” said semi-retired attorney T.J. Solomon, also a member of CaroMont Cares.
Also along for the tour of the nursing program at Belmont Abbey College were sisters from the Sisters of Mercy, which has a hospital in Charlotte and were the original occupants of the nursing program’s building, and several members of the Cherry family, who earlier in the day awarded two students nursing scholarships.
Hospitals and medical offices have experienced nursing shortages for about 100 years, Carolyn Harmon, the nursing program’s first dean, told the group. Despite those shortages, four new hospitals are under construction in the greater Charlotte region in addition to the one in Belmont.
“How are we going to staff these hospitals?” she asked. “Well, we’re going to try to do that.”
Early days of new program
Harmon described the start of the program as “fantastic.” There have been moments of learning from mistakes, but nothing major, she said.
“As we continue to grow, everything’s only going to get better,” she said.
The inaugural class of students seeking a bachelor of science degree in nursing that started in August of this year at Belmont Abbey numbered 21, and included two men. Hospitals and other medical groups have attempted to recruit more men into nursing for decades, so even two counts as a success, Harmon said.
In the next few years, Belmont Abbey expects to see its nursing classes filled with 80 students and then jump to 120 students in the next three to five years, Harmon said.
Those numbers may seem high considering Belmont Abbey has a total enrollment of about 1,500 students, Harmon said.
“We need those numbers (in nursing) so that we can serve the community,” Harmon said.
Belmont Abbey will start its RN to BSN (registered nurse to bachelor of science in nursing) and its master of science in nursing degree programs in January 2023.
Belmont Abbey Difference
The state’s only Roman Catholic college prides itself on its spiritual aspect. Nursing students at Belmont Abbey will also get training in ethics and empathy while learning medical skills.
“I know you can’t really teach people empathy, but we’re going to try to,” Harmon told the group.
Harmon later spoke of what she has experienced at Belmont Abbey. People willing to help and kindness were just two of her experiences, she said.
“There is something about Belmont Abbey,” Harmon said after her talk. “That is a sense of peace and fulfillment and joy.”
Author: The Crusader Staff Writers
A Human Services degree from Belmont Abbey College equips you for careers in the helping professions. Designed in accordance with the standards of the Council for Standards in Human Service Education, the Bachelors in Human Services aligns with the College’s mission to educate students such that God will be glorified in all they do. The undergraduate program provides students a base of knowledge and skills needed to ethically assist individuals, families, and diverse communities to function effectively through prevention and remediation of problems in a manner consistent with a Christian worldview. The program emphasizes theoretical and experiential learning aimed at optimizing human interactions and finding meaningful solutions to problems. Such knowledge and skills will assist students seeking careers in diverse social settings such as residential and community-based centers, ministry, group homes, correctional centers, public health, day treatment centers, shelters, halfway houses, child and family service centers, geriatric facilities, and social service agencies.
POSSIBLE CAREER PATHS:
Client or Victim Advocate, Family Support Workers, Caseworker, Child Life Specialist, Community Outreach Worker, Life Coach, Nonprofit Agency Administrator, Juvenile Court Liaisons, Social Service Management
Some courses in this program include the following:
HS 110: Introduction to Human Services
HS 210: Helping Skills: Theory & Practice
HS 220: Group Dynamics: Theory & Practice
HS 300: Ethical & Professional Issues
HS 330: Case Management
HS 335: Crisis Assessment, Intervention, and Prevention
HS 370: Human Service Management
HS 371: Program Planning & Evaluation
HS 372: Conflict Resolution
HS 374: Social Policy & Practice
HS 384: Social Justice & Advocacy
HS 493: Field Experience in Human Services
HS 373: Capstone in Human Services
If you are interested in this major or minor, please contact Dr. Diane Elliot at dianaelliott@bac.edu.
This article was originally posted in the Fall 2022, Issue 2 of The Crusader Newspaper. Download the full issue.
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