{"id":4623,"date":"2017-02-17T09:49:17","date_gmt":"2017-02-17T14:49:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/?p=4623"},"modified":"2025-08-16T17:50:19","modified_gmt":"2025-08-16T21:50:19","slug":"teaching-what-matters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/2017\/02\/17\/teaching-what-matters\/","title":{"rendered":"Teaching What Matters"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Lisa Leduc, professor of criminal justice, has taught at UMPI since 2002.\u00a0 To this day, she remembers advice that a colleague gave her.\u00a0 He said, \u201cIf you believe in transformation through education, this is where you\u2019re going to see that happen.\u201d\u00a0 For 14 years, Leduc has seen her students transform into critical thinkers.\u00a0 They form bonds that have gone beyond the classroom.\u00a0 Her students\u2019 experiences will help them succeed long after they graduate.<\/p>\n

Leduc\u2019s passion for criminal justice began early in her life.\u00a0 When she was 10 years old, her sister got engaged to a police officer.\u00a0 Leduc decided that she wanted to be a police officer as well.\u00a0 Years later, she attended a community college in Canada, where she lived.\u00a0 She earned an associate degree in law enforcement.<\/p>\n

Later, Leduc enrolled at the University of Ottawa.\u00a0 She decided to earn her bachelor\u2019s in criminology.\u00a0 She wanted to join the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.\u00a0 RCMP is Canada\u2019s national police force.\u00a0 While at Ottawa, Leduc learned more about the criminal justice system.\u00a0 She realized that she didn\u2019t want to spend her life putting people into that system.<\/p>\n

In 1990, Leduc earned her bachelor\u2019s degree from Ottawa. \u00a0Canadian universities, she said, give three-year degrees.\u00a0 Then students have the option of taking an \u201chonor\u2019s year.\u201d\u00a0 Leduc decided to take an honor\u2019s year.\u00a0 She did not know what aspect of criminal justice she wanted to pursue.\u00a0 She enjoyed taking small seminar classes.\u00a0 Her professors encouraged her to go to graduate school.\u00a0 Leduc earned her master\u2019s degree in criminology in 1992.\u00a0 Her graduate school years became a turning point in her career.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I did my master\u2019s, they asked me if I wanted to teach a course,\u201d Leduc said.\u00a0 \u201cWith that first course, a big lightbulb went off.\u00a0 \u2018This is what I want to do.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

For 10 years, Leduc taught part time at two universities in Canada.\u00a0 Then she decided to make a change.\u00a0 She still wanted to teach at a university.\u00a0 But she wanted to teach smaller classes.\u00a0 Many of her classes in Canada had numerous students.\u00a0 Leduc said that her smallest class in Canada had around 700 students.\u00a0 She barely knew any of her students.\u00a0 She wanted to form greater connections with the students she taught.<\/p>\n

Around that same time, UMPI had an opening in the criminal justice program.\u00a0 Leduc moved to the U.S. in 2002 to start her UMPI career.\u00a0 During her first year, she had another big achievement.\u00a0 She earned her doctoral degree in sociology from Carleton University.\u00a0 Since then, Leduc has taught classes on many topics.\u00a0 Those topics include restorative justice and punishment and corrections.\u00a0 She also teaches classes about domestic violence and women and crime.<\/p>\n

Leduc has one piece of advice for aspiring criminal justice majors.\u00a0 UMPI\u2019s criminal justice program is not like what they see on TV.\u00a0 Students do not learn how to shoot guns and drive fast.\u00a0 Instead, they read and write about criminal justice issues.\u00a0 They also do oral class presentations.\u00a0 Even police officers, Leduc said, spend a lot of time at their desks.\u00a0 They write reports and grants.\u00a0 Their job does not always involve crime scenes or arrests.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re constantly reinforcing those \u2018soft skills,\u2019\u201d Leduc said.\u00a0 \u201cCan you write?\u00a0 Can you talk to people?\u00a0 Can you get along with people?\u00a0 Not \u2018Can you take down a 300 pound unruly arrestee?\u2019\u00a0 You don\u2019t have to necessarily use your body.\u00a0 But you need to be able to use your mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leduc also started the criminal justice program\u2019s service learning courses.\u00a0 All criminal justice students complete three service learning projects.\u00a0 They partner with a community nonprofit or agency.\u00a0 The project always relates to the course topic.<\/p>\n

This semester, domestic violence is the service learning topic.\u00a0 In the past, students have worked with the Hope and Justice Project in Presque Isle.\u00a0 They\u2019ve done fundraisers and research.\u00a0 Last fall, students took a restorative justice course.\u00a0 They worked on a project for the Maine Prisoners Advocacy Coalition.<\/p>\n

\u201cI often think of the service learning project as another textbook,\u201d Leduc said.\u00a0 \u201cI think that reinforces the fact that what they\u2019re learning is important.\u201d<\/p>\n

The service learning projects are also great for Leduc.\u00a0 Often, she reunites with former students.\u00a0 Sometimes they\u2019ve become local police officers.\u00a0 Others work for community agencies.\u00a0 Leduc enjoys getting to know all her students.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know all my students by name.\u00a0 I still have relationships with students who have graduated many years ago.\u00a0 They still check in on me or I\u2019ll visit them,\u201d Leduc said.<\/p>\n

Leduc\u2019s students admire her teaching style.\u00a0 Ted Gilliam is a senior at UMPI.\u00a0 He plans to attend law school after he graduates.\u00a0 He said he has learned to think more critically about criminal justice issues.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhether she is explaining a concept, discussing a current event or planning a service learning experience, Dr. Leduc\u2019s passion and scholarship shines through,\u201d Gilliam said.\u00a0 \u201cHer vast knowledge and personal conviction add some reality to the material.\u201d<\/p>\n

Idella Thompson is also a criminal justice senior at UMPI.\u00a0 She has learned many lessons from Leduc\u2019s classes.\u00a0 She will carry those lessons into her future career.<\/p>\n

\u201cPay attention to detail, manage your time effectively and never give up on a project even if it may take longer than you had originally thought,\u201d Thompson said.\u00a0 \u201cDr. Leduc truly cares about each one of her students and wants everyone to succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kim-Anne Perkins, professor of social work at UMPI, was on the search committee that hired Leduc in 2002.\u00a0 She thinks Leduc has been a great asset to the criminal justice program.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were incredibly fortunate when Dr. Leduc was hired,\u201d Perkins said.\u00a0 \u201cShe is an excellent colleague who works not only for her program and students, but for the institution.\u201d<\/p>\n

During her career, Leduc has worked with students from many backgrounds.\u00a0 Some are the first member of their family to attend college.\u00a0 They enter the program with different views on criminal justice.\u00a0 But Leduc thinks that all her students have one thing in common.\u00a0 They graduate from UMPI as different people from who they were as freshmen.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey open their minds, they have different viewpoints, they have different experiences,\u201d Leduc said.\u00a0 \u201cI really see a difference with our students by their experiences here in the classroom with me or just being on campus and meeting different people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like other UMPI students, Leduc\u2019s students leave the campus community.\u00a0 They graduate and move on to greater opportunities.\u00a0 But she can always count on one thing.\u00a0 She knows that she\u2019s made a difference in her students\u2019 lives.\u00a0 And she\u2019s given them tools to make a difference in their own communities.<\/p>\n

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Lisa Leduc, professor of criminal justice, has taught at UMPI since 2002.\u00a0 To this day, she remembers advice that a colleague gave her.\u00a0 He said, \u201cIf you believe in transformation through education, this is where you\u2019re going to see that happen.\u201d\u00a0 For 14 years, Leduc has seen her students transform into critical thinkers.\u00a0 They form […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":202,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7381],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4623","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-archives","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4623","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/202"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4623"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4623\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8899,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4623\/revisions\/8899"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4623"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4623"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4623"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}