Former attorney general to speak at forensics class

Former attorney general to speak at forensics class

University Park, Pa. The nation's first female attorney general, Janet Reno, will speak at the opening class of a new forensics course in a public lecture from 12:20 p.m. to 1:10 p.m. Monday, Jan. 9, in 101 Ag Sciences and Industries Building, University Park. The lecture is open to the general public and to University faculty and students in all majors.

Reno and Penn State President Graham Spanier will talk to the students in the first-year seminar, a one-credit, five-week overview of the field. Other new courses also offered this spring include: The Principles of Crime Scene Investigation (FRNSC 297A), Forensic Chemistry (CHEM 427) and Special Topics (FRNSC 497).

The major provides students with a strong foundation in the biological and physical sciences and introduces them to relevant topics in forensic chemistry, forensic anthropology, forensic biology and appropriate social sciences. Students are educated on the role of forensic scientists in the criminal justice system and how scientific evidence can be used in that system.

As the 78th attorney general, Reno headed the world's largest justice and law enforcement office for nearly eight years and was responsible for the enforcement of federal laws and for representing the government in court. The longest-serving attorney general since before the Civil War, she used the authority of her office to enforce civil rights and environmental and health statutes. She was the opening speaker in the Distinguished Speaker Series at Penn State in fall 2001.

The new forensic science major is administered by the Eberly College of Science as an interdisciplinary collaboration among academic units in the colleges of Agricultural Science, the Liberal Arts, Health and Human Development and the Eberly College.

More information is available at http://www.forensics.psu.edu online.