To centralize the public service programs at Alvin Community College, regents recently created the Center for Excellence for Legal Studies and Public Service.
Several ACC programs will be shifted to the Center, including Criminal Justice, Paralegal, Correctional Officer training, Emergency Management Service, and Mental Health and Substance Abuse. The Center is a realignment of programs at ACC.
“This will build upon the excellent reputation of our existing programs,” said Dr. Stacy Ebert, vice president of Strategic Initiatives.
While the Center includes programs that have long been established, the new alignment will help align them on more appropriate career pathways, Ebert said.
Many public service professions are projected to see strong job growth over the next 10 years. Paralegal positions are projected to grow 22 percent, Mental Health and Substance Abuse professionals at 30 percent, and criminal justice investigators at 12 percent.
“The organizational move will be successful by providing focused leadership and alignment with industry needs,” Ebert said.
John J. Murray was selected to lead the new Center at ACC as Executive Director of Legal Studies.
“I am excited about the opportunities this new Center of Excellence will create for students,” Murray said. “Through this realignment, we will be rethinking curriculum to create innovative learning opportunities, building out continuing education courses for the community, and work will begin on creating a Bachelor’s Degree pathway for students from all of the programs in the Center to earn. Whether students want to pursue law/graduate school, get promoted at their current job by earning a degree, or want to take a course to improve their understanding or skill in a particular area of the law or public service, this Center at ACC will be the provider they can trust.
Murray was previously director of the ACC Paralegal program. He is a practicing attorney with an LL.M. degree from Pepperdine University. He has studied dispute resolution in Switzerland with the United Nations and the World Intellectual Property Organization. Murray has also trained with Los Angeles Police on conflict management techniques and is a prior Law Instructor at the United States Army Military Police School.
Murray received ACC’s League of Innovation Excellence Award in 2021 and recently published a textbook for Paralegal programs throughout the country.
