Ron Thrasher is equally comfortable at a crime scene or in the classroom. By day, he is the deputy chief of the Stillwater Police Department, and by night — and sometimes during the lunch hour — he is a visiting assistant professor in the OSU sociology department whose classes are in high demand. Thrasher, who says he sometimes doesn’t know what hat he’s wearing, finds the dual role invigorating for himself, his students and his community. photos/courtesy He has always been interested in law enforcement as well as deviant behavior and treatment. “Police work is exciting. You never know with that 3 a.m. call what you’re going to be asked to be — a lawyer, doctor, marriage counselor or nurse. There is a family history. My great uncle was a lawman in Oklahoma Territory,” he says, “but I think altruism is a strong motivator for becoming a law officer.” Already a graduate of the FBI National Academy, he completed his doctorate in sociology at OSU in 1999 and has since divided his free time between teaching and consulting for numerous government agencies on subjects ranging from crime scene investigation to sociological autopsy to therapeutic courts. He combines the worlds of academe and law enforcement by drawing on his experiences as a law officer to teach graduate forensic courses through the OSU Center for Health Sciences in Tulsa and forensics, criminal behavioral analysis and a number of other classes on the OSU-Stillwater campus. Powerful Connection “I love to stand up in front of a class and be challenged by the young,” he says. And the experience appears to be reciprocal. Students seek out Thrasher’s classes, and many enroll in all the courses he teaches, according to Arts and Sciences Student Services. “Many of my students are repeat folks,” Thrasher says. “The most frequent comment from students is that they like the application of research and theory to real-life situations they can relate to. Having a story helps them remember the theory.” His students ask direction from him for a wide assortment of personal problems, he says. “And more and more frequently, when I phone the FBI, the probation and parole office, the Department of Corrections or any number of criminal justice agencies, the person on the other end of the phone says, ‘I remember your class.’” Thrasher’s academic experience has likewise benefited the Stillwater Police Department, where he spent seven years in a “black and white” and 15 years commanding criminal investigation. He has secured grants to purchase laptops for Stillwater police and to establish work-study and internship programs that allow students to experience municipal police work. A “I love to stand up in front of a class and be challenged by the young.” The ivory tower came down some time ago although there was no bang to mark the occasion. Instead, the boundaries between campus and community quietly began to fade as more and more frequently the community looked to academe for innovation and the university enhanced opportunities for career preparation. Today’s Arts and Sciences students engage in experiential learning through internships and study abroad, learn from professors who work in both academe and the community and are recipients of gifts from corporations that further connect the academic and real worlds. They graduate with knowledge, experience and connections that reach well beyond the classroom. Ron Thrasher BRIDGING TWO WORLDS College of Arts and Sciences 14
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