By Kelly Glista

The recent addition of a Bachelor of Science degree in forensics to the University’s list of available majors has students and professors excited about the growth potential for the program.

According to the current director of the program, Rodney Finzel, an associate professor and chairman of the chemistry department, the new four-year program has many of the same basic science requirements as a pre-med concentration does. The difference is advanced elective courses in the field such as Forensic Anthropology, Forensic Imaging and Photography and Introduction to Firearm Identification and Ballistics. Finzel says that the school is hoping to hire a director for the program in the next few years. As of now six professors, all with past or present forensic experience, will teach the advanced electives.

There are also two required courses taught in conjunction with the University Law School, one on scientific evidence and another on expert witnessing. The latter will be taught to forensics students and the law students separately, but during the second half of the semester the classes will be combined to give students the chance to assume their roles as witnesses and lawyers in a mock trial setting.

The reasoning behind this new addition to the University’s academics is both convenience and interest, according to Finzel. Many former biochemistry majors from the University have gone on to study forensic science at graduate school. When the requirements for a forensics program were examined, it was found that the school was already teaching the core courses for this concentration, he added.

The facilities for the new classes, for the most part, were also already in use. The University recently received a $50,000 donation for a new microscopy lab to aid the progression of the new program.

Projected job growth for forensic science technicians is much higher than average. Employment of forensic scientists grew from about 5,300 in 1993 to 9,800 in 2004, according to the U.S. Department of Labor Web site. Those with a four-year degree in forensic science seem to have an edge over those with two-year experience and the majority of forensic scientists work for state and local governments.

Unlike some other forensics programs, the program is a science degree, rather than criminal justice. Finzel also said he believes it also has the potential to be a catalyst for growth at the University.

“It’s the type of program that will draw in students that wouldn’t have gone to Hofstra,” he said.

The University will be holding a second open house for the program on Nov. 11.