Criminal Justice Bachelor's Degree

Susan Blankenship began her forensics career working for the Drug Enforcement Administration as a forensic drug chemist. While working for the DEA, she analyzed seized evidence to determine if it contained any controlled dangerous substances. From there, she moved to the Western Maryland Regional Crime Laboratory in the Hagerstown Police Department, where she continued to analyze suspected controlled dangerous substances in addition to performing crime scene investigations, basic serology, impression evidence development, and basic document analyses. In 2007, she was hired by University of Maryland Global Campus as a full-time collegiate faculty member to teach and help administer investigative forensics classes. In 2014, Blankenship was promoted to program chair for public safety administration and investigative forensics. In 2017, Blankenship revived the homeland security program.

Blankenship is a board-certified forensic scientist, holding a Diplomate in General Criminalistics from the American Board of Criminalistics. She is also a member of the Mid-Atlantic Association of Forensic Scientists. She represents MAAFS as a board member of the ABC and currently serves as treasurer of the ABC. She earned a Doctor of Management from UMGC, a Master of Forensic Sciences from The George Washington University, and a Bachelor of Science in chemistry from Mary Washington College.

Alison Goodrich comes to University of Maryland Global Campus with an extensive background in criminal justice program development and management as well as higher education administration. Her prior experience in higher education involved serving as an academic program director, a full-time faculty member, a department chair, and an associate provost.

Goodrich has broad experience working with deans, department chairs, and program directors to ensure comprehensive, university-wide strategic planning as well as assessment and evaluation of student learning outcomes and program goals. She has also directed and assisted in the coordination of institutional planning and academic strategies in support of institutional strategic plans and in producing top-quality educational programming while maintaining both university-wide and discipline-based accreditations.

She has developed and managed several undergraduate and graduate-level criminal justice degree programs for implementation in on-the-ground, online, and hybrid environments, and she has served in the U.S. Department of Justice Criminal Division, the U.S. district court system, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Goodrich holds a Bachelor of Arts in history, a Master of Arts in international relations, a second Master of Arts in political science, a Juris Doctorate, and a PhD in criminal justice.