History of the Walls Unit

Wed, Nov 5, 2014
3:00pm
Gresham Library, Thomason Room (Fourth Floor)

The Newton Gresham Library will hold a special presentation on the history of the Walls Unit, which houses the execution chamber for death penalty cases in the state of Texas.

The presentation will feature Jim Willett, former Warden of the Huntsville Unit (Walls Unit) and author of Warden: Texas Prison Life and Death from the Inside Out. He currently serves as Director of the Prison Museum in Huntsville.

Following the lecture, there will be a presentation featuring items from SHSU Special Collections. The Thomason Room includes collections about the history of criminal justice in Texas.

Space is limited to the first 40 attendees. To RSVP or for more information, call (936) 294-1619.

SHSU Distinguished Alumni Named Head of NIJ

Dr. Nancy Rodriguez, NIJ Director. Photo Courtesy of Arizona State University.

Dr. Nancy Rodriguez, a Distinguished Alumna from Sam Houston State University’s College of Criminal Justice, was appointed by President Barack Obama as the new Director of the National Institute of Justice (NIJ).

SHSU Graduate Appointed Head of NIJ

Dr. Nancy Rodriguez, who earned her bachelor's degree from Sam Houston State University, College of Criminal Justice, was appointed by President Barack Obama to serve as the Director of the National Institute of Justice! . . . Read the White House announcement here (last paragraph) . . .

Beto Chair Lecture: Dr. Marvin Krohn

Fri, Oct 24, 2014 9:30 - 11:00 A.M. Hazel B. Kerper Courtroom

College Founder Prospered as Accidential Criminologist

George Beto was the Director of the Texas Department of Corrections.

George Beto, Ph.D., whose name is synonymous with the College of Criminal Justice, didn’t start out in a career in criminal justice.

The son of a Lutheran minister, Beto was a graduate of Concordia Seminary in St. Louis when he received his call to come to Concordia College in Austin to teach, eventually serving as president of the institution. He was later appointed to the Texas Prison Board, which began his service in prisons and the criminal justice discipline that stretched from Texas to Illinois to Alabama.

Following the untimely death of O.B. Ellis, director of the Texas Department of Corrections (TDC), Beto was tapped to head the statewide agency.

After serving as President of Concordia College for 20 years, Beto set his sights on corrections.As the head of TDC, he was approached by a state legislator named David Crews, who lamented the lack of cooperation between the department and nearby Sam Houston State College. “I recall his saying at that time that he would prefer to see Sam Houston famous for a Criminology Program rather than as a cheer leader school,” Beto said in a speech during the College’s 25th Anniversary. . . . Read more . . .