July 23, 2012
For Immediate Release
By Joan C. McKinney, news and publications coordinator
CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. - Ben Stickle, instructor in criminal justice at Campbellsville University, has been elected first vice president of the Kentucky Peace Officers' Association (KPOA) at a board meeting in Middlesboro, Ky.
He will be in rotation to be president the following year and hopes to serve in that position to help bring criminal justice opportunities to students at Campbellsville University both on the main campus and at the Louisville Education Center (LEC) where he coordinates the criminal justice program. Criminal justice is also offered at the Somerset Education Center and online.
Stickle said he has secured two KPOA board meetings at the Louisville Education Center and has offered the LEC facilities to host two law enforcement training courses for certified officers across the Commonwealth of Kentucky next year.
He also offered the LEC to host the KPOA's annual conference next year.
“I believe these efforts will provide tremendous name recognition and involvement in law enforcement across the Commonwealth which will undoubtedly contribute to the criminal justice administration program at CU,” Stickle said.
He said the KPOA has agreed, under his direction, to allow students and faculty to join the organization, and the membership will include the opportunity for faculty and students to submit scholarly work related to law enforcement in Kentucky.
Stickle said the work, if selected, will appear in the bi-monthly newsletter, On Guard, which is sent to over 1,000 recipients.
“This is a terrific opportunity for students and faculty across the Commonwealth and at CU to get involved in law enforcement and publish their work,” Stickle said.
He said also the president of KPOA will sit on the Kentucky Law Enforcement Council (KLEC), which governs all of the state's law enforcement. He said the council is charged with certifying or approving law enforcement training schools, training instructors and curriculum, as well as administering the Peace Officer Professional Standards (POPS) certification process and monitoring the Kentucky Law Enforcement Foundation Program Fund (KLEFPF).
Stickle said membership in KLEC will help the university reach out to high ranking officials in criminal justice across the Commonwealth and as “model Christ-centered servant leadership by fostering academic excellence for Kentucky law enforcement.”
He said, “I am excited about the opportunities which exist between Campbellsville University and the Kentucky Peace Officers' Association. The partnership between the two organizations clearly falls within the core values and mission of both institutions and will benefit both organizations in tremendous ways.”
Stickle received his master of science in justice administration in 2010 from the University of Louisville and is pursuing his doctorate there. He received his bachelor of science in sociology from Cedarville University in 2005. He graduated from Bowling Green High School.
He has served as a deputy sheriff in the Warren County Sheriff's Office, an advanced police officer in the Bowling Green Police Department and was a security officer with the Cedarville University Department of Campus Security.
He belongs to the Kentucky Peace Officers' Association, the International Association of Identification, the Assembly of Criminal Justice Sciences, the American Society of Criminology and the Fraternal Order of Police.
He and his wife, Amy Tarter Stickle, have two children, Emery and Caroline. He is the son of Dr. and Mrs. Fred Stickle of Bowling Green.
Campbellsville University is a widely acclaimed Kentucky-based Christian university with more than 3,500 students offering 63 undergraduate options, 17 master's degrees, five postgraduate areas and eight pre-professional programs. The website for complete information is cjpk.net.