Criminal Justice & Legal Studies
Department Faculty

GERALD (GARY) BAYENS

Gerald J. Bayens, Ph.D., is a Professor and Chair of the Criminal Justice & Legal Studies Department at Washburn University. He teaches courses in corrections (institutional and community), law enforcement and correctional management, and supervises graduate theses. Dr. Bayens worked in the criminal justice field for 22 years as a police officer, correctional officer, and corrections administrator. He is a former Special Agent of the K.B.I. and Director of Juvenile Corrections and Intensive Supervised Probation. Dr. Bayens served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1974-1978. He is the co-author of Criminal Justice Research Methods: Theory and Practice (Wadsworth, 2000) and Community Corrections (McGraw-Hill, forthcoming 2010). Dr. Bayens is a member of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences and the American Correctional Association. He is the recipient of the 1993 Washburn Fellow Award. In 1992-1993, he served as President and past-president of the Kansas Correctional Association. He can be reached at gerald.bayens@washburn.edu.

PHYLLIS BERRY

Phyllis Berry, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor and the Graduate Program Coordinator for the Master of Criminal Justice Degree Program. She teaches courses in crime and justice, ethics, and research methods. Dr. Berry joined Washburn University in 2004 after 5 years at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Dr. Berry received her Masters in Administration of Justice from Wichita State University and her doctorate in Sociology from Oklahoma State University, where she specialized in Criminology and Social Psychology. Some of Dr. Berry’s publications include articles on probation, mothers in prison, and human rights. She can be reached at phyllis.berry@washburn.edu.

MIKE MANSKE

Michael W. Manske, J.D., is an Associate Professor. He teaches, researches, and writes primarily in the areas of law, political science, and public policy. Mr. Manske holds a Bachelors of Science degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a Master of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Kansas. He is also finishing a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Political Science at the University of Kansas, emphasizing the major subfields of American government, international relations, and public administration. Prior to assuming full-time teaching duties in 1994, Mr. Manske was a prosecutor, defense counsel, private practice attorney, and commissioned infantry officer in the United States Marine Corps. He has served the Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas, Unified Government as the Assistant Director of the ethics program. Mr. Manske has published numerous articles in professional journals and has presented major research projects at national and international conferences. He can be reached at mike.manske@washburn.edu.

HARRISON WATTS

Harrison Watts joined the faculty at Washburn in the fall 2008.  He brings with him ten years of prior teaching experience at Vernon College (Texas) and Cameron University (Oklahoma). His academic credentials include both a Bachelors and Masters degree from Midwestern State University (Texas).  He earned a second Masters degree from Sam Houston State University (Texas) and is a Ph.D. candidate at Northcentral University (Arizona).  His dissertation is entitled, Exploring the Oklahoma adultery statute: A public policy analysis. He has published two supplementary textbooks in the area of criminal investigations and law enforcement. His research interests are centered on policing, forensics, and distance learning. He has over 15 years of law enforcement experience and currently holds a Master Peace Officer License through Texas.  He has served with a county sheriff’s office (Denton County, Texas) and with the Vernon, Texas Police Department where he worked various assignments to include: patrol, criminal investigations, crime prevention and training as well as a sergeant in investigations.  In addition, he worked for the State of Texas as an Inspector General. He is a graduate of the Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas, Leadership Command College. He has attended over 2,000 hours of law enforcement in-service training. He can be reached at harrison.watts@washburn.edu or by visiting his homepage at www.drharrisonwatts.com.

RICHARD MARTIN

Richard Martin, J.D., joined Washburn University in 1993. He is a Washburn School of Law alumnus with over 20 years practice as a lawyer, including seven years as a district attorney. He is a Navy veteran who served in Vietnam. He can be reached at richard.martin@washburn.edu.

KAY RUTE

Kay Rute, J.D., has been teaching at Washburn University since 1989. An alumnus of the Washburn School of Law, she is the current Director of the Legal Studies program. Prior to joining the Washburn faculty, Ms. Rute was a research attorney for Justice Kay McFarland of the Kansas Supreme Court, as well as staff counsel to various state agencies and an administrative hearing officer for the Department of Social and Rehabilitative Services. She can be reached at kay.rute@washburn.edu.

TERRY KNOWLES

Terry K. Knowles comes to Washburn University after a 40-year career in law enforcement, serving at three jurisdictional levels---local, state, and federal. He served 24 years as an FBI Special Agent, retiring in 1989 as Special Agent in Charge of the Sacramento Division. Knowles then served as Police Chief of Springfield (MO), and State of Missouri Public Safety Director before returning home to Kansas in 1995 to serve as Deputy Director of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI). Prior to entering law enforcement, he served as an infantry officer in the U.S. Marine Corps for four years. Professor Knowles earned a B.S. in Journalism from Kansas State University, and a Master in Criminal Justice from Washburn University. He can be reached at terry.knowles@washburn.edu.

JOSEPH RUSKOWITZ

Joe Ruskowitz is a graduate of Wichita State University with a Master of Science Degree in the Administration of Justice. His teaching experiences include Washburn University and Reno County Community College. While with the Kansas Department of Corrections, he was a deputy warden at the Hutchinson Correctional Facility and deputy secretary responsible for community corrections, parole, work release, and county jail inspections. Additional professional positions include juvenile probation officer, director of a juvenile residential center, state criminal justice planner, and director of an urban community corrections agency. He has extensive experience as a consultant/auditor for the American Correctional Association's Standards and Accreditation Department and is a charter member of the Kansas Correctional Association. He can be reached at joseph.ruskowitz@washburn.edu.

SAM NEWLAND

Sam Newland, Ph.D., joined Washburn University as Instructor of Military Studies in the fall 2007 semester. Dr. Newland earned a doctorate in Modern European History with emphasis in German History at the University of Kansas. His teaching experience is quite impressive, having been employed in higher education for 40 years. Most recently, Dr. Newland held the position of Professor of Military Education at the U.S. War College in Pennsylvania. He is  is well published in the area of Military & Strategic Studies and Military History. He can be reached at sam.newland@washburn.edu.

Emeritus Professors

RON TANNEHILL

Dr. Ron Tannehill has 14 years of police and juvenile corrections field experience, working as a patrol officer, detective, police supervisor, and program director in a juvenile corrections facility and 12 years experience in public administration. He has 15 years of full time and 8 years of adjunct criminal justice teaching experience. He has written several articles on policing, juvenile corrections, criminal justice education and training and is co-author of a textbook entitled The Development of American Law Enforcement published in 2001. Dr. Tannehill earned his Bachelors and Masters degrees in Administration of Justice at Wichita State University and his Ph.D. at Kansas State University. He has completed numerous training courses in management, staff development, and human relations. His research and testing interests focus on criminal justice management, criminal justice communication, and problem-oriented policing. He is actively involved with community crime prevention groups. In spring 2006, Dr. Tannehill retired from the Criminal Justice Department, but continues to teach in the department as an Emeritus Professor. He can be reached at ron.tannehill@washburn.edu.

CLIFF ROBERSON

Dr. Roberson received his Bachelor of Arts in political science and  history from the  University of Missouri; his J.D. in law from American University Graduate Study at the University of Virginia-Judge Advocate General's School; his LLM in Criminal Law, Criminology, and Psychiatry from George Washington University; and his Ph.D. in Human Behavior and Leadership from U.S. International University.  Prior to joining the Criminal Justice Department, Dr. Roberson was an Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice at St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas (1978-1983); Director of Programs for the National College of District Attorneys, University of Houston School of Law (1983-1984); the Director of the Justice Center and Professor Criminal Justice at California State University, Fresno (1984-1991); the Director and a Professor of the C.J. Program, University of Houston-Victoria (1991-1993); the Dean of Arts and  Sciences, University of Houston, Victoria (1993-1995); the Associate Vice-President for Academics, Arkansas Tech (1995-1996); and Staff Counsel, State Counsel for Offenders, Texas Board of Criminal Justice (1996-1997). He has published, authored, and co-authored 40 books. He can be reached at cliff.roberson@washburn.edu.

THEDORE HEIM

Ted Heim has taught in the Criminal Justice program since it was established in 1971. Prior beginning college teaching at the University of Kansas and Missouri Western, he served as an air police officer and squadron commander and held a variety of positions in the Kansas Prison system, concluding his service as warden of the Reception and Diagnostic Center in Topeka. His teaching and research interests include prisons and their management, correctional history, and staff development. He is active in professional organizations and continues to serve on a number of advisory boards for community corrections. He completed his undergraduate degree at Kansas State University and his master's in political science at the University of Kansas. He also has completed additional graduate work at the George Washington University, University of Kansas, and Kansas State University. He was awarded emeritus status in 1998, but continues to teach courses in his areas of interest on a part-time basis. He can be reached at ted.heim@washburn.edu.

Department Staff

KELLY MOURNING-BYERS

Kelly Mourning-Byers previously worked for Lawrence Public Schools, Lawrence, KS, in alcohol, tobacco, other drugs, and violence prevention. She joined the Criminal Justice Department the summer of 2007, and is currently responsible for the daily administration of the office. Kelly earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history with an emphasis in women's studies at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. She can be reached at kelly.mourningbyers@washburn.edu.

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