June 12, 2009
Media contact: Anne Russell
Cell: 604-798-3709
Office: 604-795-2826
anne.russell@ufv.ca
UFV gold medal winner had his eyes on the prize
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Darren Caul |
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Darren Caul regarded a master’s degree as a bit of unfinished business, and as an opportunity to excel academically that he’d missed the first time around.
And excel he did: Caul graduated this spring from the University of the Fraser Valley’s Master of Arts in Criminal Justice program as the winner of the Governor General’s gold medal. This award is given to the student at the graduate level with the highest GPA at each university.
“I’m very proud and excited to receive this award,” said an excited Caul when told of his win. “When I did my undergraduate degree in the ’90s I was working full time as a corrections officer and my grades weren’t as good as they could have been because work consumed a lot of my energy. I accepted that I was sacrificing grades for relevant career experience, but I also wanted to return to school and do better.”
Obtaining a master’s degree was on Caul’s “bucket list”, but to do so he needed to find a school to accept him. He set his sights on UFV because of that university’s willingness to consider relevant professional experience as well as university grades when reviewing applications.
Caul is currently the regional manager of community relations and training for the National Parole Board, based out of Edmonton. He flew in to Abbotsford for intensive three-day courses and to pursue his research project about 20 times over the two-and-a-half year period.
“I found the UFV program particularly attractive because the class was composed almost entirely of experienced professionals in the criminal justice system. The varied and comparative perspectives they brought to the debate made for a very rich learning ground,” he says. “I also liked the idea of a small cohort working together, which provided a great opportunity to learn from both the professors and the other students, and a level of attention and support throughout our projects that you probably wouldn’t get elsewhere.”
He also found some excellent professors in the program.
“There were a few from whom I learned a tremendous amount. They challenged our thinking about the system and our approach to being criminal justice professionals,” he says, citing Irwin Cohen, Martin Silverstein, and Darryl Plecas as examples.
Caul did his major research project on the topic of police boards in Canada.
Most municipal police forces in Canada have a board overseeing them, and there are range of apparently political structures. In BC, for example, the municipality’s mayor is the chair of the board.
“I was academically curious about the nature of relationships as a byproduct of police board structure. I wondered whether it was a significant variable in determining whether or not police chiefs perceived political interference,” Caul says. “It was the first empirical study of its kind and we had chiefs going on the record to say that the majority of them had experienced at least one instance of political pressure or interference.”
Dr. Martin Silverstein, director of UFV’s school of criminal justice, says Caul’s report was an “outstanding piece of work.”
He added that having a class of working professionals results in some interesting research.
“What we’re seeing with the major papers is that because the students are in the field, they have insight into the system and are able to produce work that reflects both theory and practice.”
Caul concedes that he was pursuing the medal since learning that he was a candidate last summer.
“I was working hard to complete my degree requirements before the deadlines with hopes of receiving the medal and graduating this year.”
Having had two kids and thus two parental leaves during the course of the program afforded him a little more time to concentrate on school and he was determined to do well.
“I couldn't have achieved this without the support of my wife, Gabriella, and I share this honour with her.”
Now that he’s finished the program, Caul says his “return on investment” was excellent.
“It was a wonderful investment. The two and a half years I spent on it will pay dividends for the rest of my life. It will look good on my CV, and I’ve made many friendships and professional contacts that will serve me well in my career.”
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