Robert Dufek Tapped for Fellowship at Cazenovia College

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The Washburn Research Fellows - see release text for caption

• Robert Dufek

CAZENOVIA, NY (10/14/2011)(readMedia)-- Cazenovia College's Washburn Junior Research Fellowships and Teaching Fellowship for 2011-2012 have been announced by Dr. John Robert Greene, Paul J. Schupf Professor, History and Humanities, and advisor for the fellowship program.

Dr. Greene has directed the Washburn Junior Fellowship Program since its inception. Conceived and funded by Professor Emeritus Marge Pinet, and named for her parents, this unique fellowship allows selected students a funded opportunity for research within his or her chosen academic field. Greene announced a significant change in the program this year, thanks to the generosity of Professor Pinet.  "In this, the program's eleventh year," Greene said, "there will be four research fellows, one from each academic division."

This past spring, members of the faculty, staff, and administration nominated students deserving of a fellowship and final choices were made by Dr. Greene with the help of several colleagues. Nominated students were required to submit their capstone proposals to be considered for a fellowship. The fellows will receive stipends to aid their research in any way they choose, and each will be invited to make a presentation to a significant portion of the faculty during the final week of his or her Capstone experience.

Robert H. Dufek, of Schenectady, N.Y., a senior majoring in criminal justice and homeland security studies, is the Washburn Junior Research Fellow for the Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences.

Dufek has been consistently on the Dean's List and is a member of the Cazenovia College Judicial Review Board. He has been inducted into the Alpha Lambda Delta National Honor Society; the National Society of Leadership and Success; and the Alpha Chi National College Honor Society. He is also a member of the Cazenovia Volunteer Fire Department and was a master student during the fall semester of 2010.

He says, "This fellowship will be a great opportunity for me to educate people outside the law enforcement field on the TASER device. My capstone will argue that TASERs are the safest and most effective non-lethal tool for law enforcement agencies to use, and despite the public's controversial views, TASERs protect and save lives. In order to accomplish this goal I will be comparing the TASER device to batons and pepper spray. My research will be a compilation of research from articles, books, interviews, and videos. It is my hope that through my research I will help people see the benefits of using the TASER. I may also use my research in my future law enforcement career to defend the TASER's credibility."

Greene says, "I think it goes without saying that we as an institution are incredibly grateful to Marge for inaugurating this innovative program. I am also pleased that over the past decade, Washburn Fellows have testified to both the rigor and the usefulness of their experience; many have told me how useful the Fellowship was in their respective Grad School programs, and at last summer's Alumni Weekend, a reunion of past Washburn Fellows paid tribute to this as well."

PHOTO: Professor Emerita Marge Pinet (center), met with The Washburn Research Fellows named in the fall of 2011, in the Cazenovia College Archives. Left to right: Kimberly Norton, for the Division of Humanities and Natural Sciences; Elizabeth DeLuca, for the Division of Business and Management; Professor Marge Pinet; Robert H. Dufek, for the Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences; and 2011 Washburn Teaching Fellow, Jasmyne Cole. Not pictured: Carissa S. Wheeler, research fellow for the Division of Art and Design.

Cazenovia College, founded in 1824, is an independent, co-educational, baccalaureate college near Syracuse, N.Y., offering a comprehensive liberal arts education in an exceptional community environment, with academic and co-curricular programs devoted to developing leaders in their professional fields. Cazenovia, named one of "America's Best Colleges" by U.S. News & World Report, is also a national College of Distinction. For more information, visit www.cazenovia.edu.

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