Criminology welcomes Visiting Chair, January 2002

Criminology welcomes Visiting Chair

Dr. John Winterdyk will be working at St. Thomas until April in the capacity of Visiting Chair in Criminology.

The department of criminology welcomed its new Visiting Chair in Criminology earlier this month.
Dr. John Winterdyk will be teaching courses, liaise with community agencies, and offer input to the department. “It’s a different institution but already it seems it’s a good fit,” he says. “My primary area is young offenders, so it’s a good match with the Centre for Youth at Risk. The goal is to become familiar with it, and, through that, set up a network system where I can become an associate of the Centre.”

Susan Reid-MacNevin, chair of criminology, says John’s major focus will be the liaison work. “I’m pleased that John will be working with Correctional Services Canada, the Department of Public Safety, the John Howard Society and other community agencies to develop a series of public lectures. We want to develop studies in international comparative criminal justice.”

Susan adds that John will also be recruiting students for a Criminology Study Tour of Europe. “Already, a few students have expressed interest,” John says. The trip spans May 3 to 25, including visits to Austria, Munich, Belgium and France.

Currently enjoying a sabbatical, John claims he is following the “typical routine” by becoming a visiting chair. During his four months here, John will work toward the completion of his text on juvenile justice. “It’s of interest to Susan and the department, too; it will strengthen the programme.” John is also working on a research methods text, which is due at the end of 2002.

John arrived in Fredericton in early January from Mount Royal College in Calgary. In his time there he has attended conferences across Canada and the United States, as well as Germany, the Netherlands, Korea and Greece. However, his sojourn at St. Thomas marks his first visit to the Atlantic Provinces. “That was indirectly part of the decision but I was really keen on becoming associated with the Centre,” he says. “When you meet face-to-face you get the pulse of the people, and the impression has been positive so far.”

John completed his honours in psychology at Wilfred Laurier in 1978. His life changed during a placement in a probation office when he was asked to establish a pilot programme with young offenders. “I suddenly became very enthusiastic on that area,” he says. “and my instructor told me about this new programme at Simon Fraser in criminology.

“I thought I’d go skiing with criminology as a side interest,” he jokes.

Aside from skiing, John is also a skilled triathlete. He travelled to Perth, Australia, as a member of the 2000 Canadian National Triathlon Team for the World Triathlon Championships and has conducted a number of presentations on health and fitness. He has also endured 20 Iron Man challenges, usually posting in the top three or four. “I was on the cross-country team in high school and I was always a good cyclist but not the best, and a good swimmer but not the best,” he says. “But over the years I became more proficient.”

John also completed his Ph.D. at SFU in 1987 as the first person to graduate from the doctoral program in Criminology.