Jackson Community College

News Home

Photo Galleries

The Phoenix

South Central State Employees Credit Union donates $20,000 to criminal justice, science studies

Jackson Community College students will soon be able to do some of the same science they see on popular crime shows like “CSI” or in today’s increasingly scientific criminal case investigations. The College is pleased to announce a nearly $20,000 donation from South Central State Employees Credit Union toward the purchase of classroom and laboratory equipment for criminal justice and science classes to do “CSI”-type investigation and experiments.

The donation will be used to purchase equipment and supplies to amplify and analyze DNA. There is $8,700 earmarked for PCR technology, or polymerase chain reaction. This technique is used to rapidly produce multiple copies of a DNA segment of interest using a machine called a thermal cycler. Another $7,405 will be used to purchase equipment and supplies for DNA fingerprinting for criminalistics studies, and $3,800 will be used to install a multimedia projector in a primary criminal justice classroom. This will allow students to view forensic science and biotechnology multimedia materials like experimental simulations, molecular structures and crime scene evidence.

“This will allow our students to really see the investigation and science that goes into today’s criminal investigations,” said Professor Laura Thurlow of JCC’s science department. Thurlow collaborated with criminal justice and corrections Professor Tom Fleming to draft the proposal to expand biotechnology course work in the criminal justice curriculum. It was reviewed by Terri Papierski, chief executive officer of SCSECU, and its board of directors, who awarded the full request.

“This will allow students to see everything from the crime scene right on through collection and preservation of evidence and actual processing of DNA, from beginning to end. This will be an important learning experience for our students,” Professor Tom Fleming said. “This may expand into other applications, such as providing in-service training for people in law enforcement. We’re going to investigate and see what applications may be of interest to local law enforcement.”

Hillsdale County Sheriff’s Department Deputy John Gessner teaches a criminalistics course during the summer at JCC, and Thurlow visited the class this past summer (2006) to lead students through a DNA fingerprinting laboratory exercise. Students were very excited about the lab, and faculty saw great potential for expanding this type of collaboration. “This allows students to get more hands-on in seeing how DNA evidence goes from start to finish,” Gessner said.

While DNA investigation is fascinating and cutting edge, it is also expensive. The additional funds, in particular the thermal cycler required for PCR technology, would not be possible without this funding, and will enrich the curriculum and benefit hundreds of students each year in criminal justice and biology courses.

While most people think of DNA evidence helping to solve murder cases, DNA evidence is used much more extensively in property crimes, such as processing DNA from a cigarette butt someone leaves at the site of a burglary, Fleming said.

“We are very thankful for the generosity and involvement of South Central State Employees Credit Union in providing funds for this valuable area of study,” said Mitchell Blonde, executive director of the Jackson Community College Foundation and director of philanthropy and planned giving. “With the growth of scientific investigation in crime scenes today, this donation can benefit the College, our students, and the community as a whole.”

About PCR

One of the most crucial steps in modern DNA testing is PCR – polymerase chain reaction. This is a technology that allows thousands of copies of a DNA sample to be made within hours for analysis, and is the first step in processing a DNA sample before any tests are done. This involves rapidly heating and cooling DNA to specific temperatures so that its two strands separate and then come back together with new complementary strands – a little like “Xeroxing” DNA. A thermal cycler carries out the rapid and specific temperature changes.

JCC students enrolled in general biology, as well as criminalistics, will collect their own DNA by swabbing their cheek cells. They will then amplify their own DNA through PCR, and test their own genetic makeup for a particular trait. While biology students have done DNA fingerprinting in the past, this will expand its instruction and bring in the new study involving PCR.

“This will really personalize an abstract concept for students,” Thurlow said. “They will be testing their own DNA. This makes what they read about in their text or hear about in class so much more real to them.”