Dr. James J. Ness, who formerly oversaw the criminal justice programs at Barton Community College, was recently appointed to the position of Dean of the new College of Criminal Justice and Security at University of Phoenix.

Before beginning his long career in law enforcement and criminal justice education, Ness conducted his graduate studies at Southern Illinois, where he earned a Ph.D. in Educational Administration and a master’s degree in Administration of Justice/Law Enforcement. He later went on to become a tenured professor of law enforcement at the University. He later moved to Great Bend and served as director of criminal justice programs for Barton Community College.

As a professional in the field of criminal justice, Ness has held posts as Chief of Specialized Training for the Kosovo Police Service School, Station Chief for the International Police Task Force in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Dean of Academics for the Haitian National Police Training Center. As well, he is a former police chief, investigator and police supervisor, and has served in the military. As the founder of Ness & Associates, a criminal justice training and consulting firm, he has worked closely with numerous police and government agencies including the Department of Justice and the U.S. State Department.