Dr. Kevin D. Cannon’s Travel Scholarship Fund

“It is important to me to give students who are from an economic background that does not necessarily allow for travel the opportunity to have that kind of valuable learning experience.”

–Dr. Kevin D. Cannon 

Photo credit: University Marketing & Communications

A new scholarship fund at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville will enable travel opportunities for students in the future. The CAS Broadening Horizons Travel Scholarship has been created through a planned gift donation to the SIUE Foundation from Dr. Kevin D. Cannon, chair of the department of criminal justice.

Cannon himself did two study abroad courses when he was younger, despite limited finances and lack of available scholarships. His parents were very supportive of his desire to travel and helped him to study in places like Amsterdam and Wales. Through these traveling experiences, he soon developed interests in corrections systems, capital punishment, and international and organized crime which eventually led him to obtaining his doctorate in criminal justice.

Cannon’s planned gift stems from a strong desire to promote educational opportunities for students through travel. The scholarship will be available to all College of Arts & Science majors, with a preference given to those who have not traveled abroad before and that demonstrate financial need. “It is important to me to give students who are from an economic background that does not necessarily allow for travel the opportunity to have that kind of valuable learning experience.”

This May, Cannon will take a group to learn about the police, court system, and correctional systems in Ireland and Northern Ireland. Each summer he takes students abroad to study criminal justice through his Special Topics in Criminal Justice course (CJ-390). “My primary focus is teaching through experience as opposed to research. So far, around 18 students will be going this year. We will focus on the criminal justice system there and also participate in various cultural activities.”

In line with all things criminal justice, the department will host a Criminal Justice Career Fair on Apr. 18  from 10:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in the Goshen Lounge. Over thirty agencies will be there from the federal, state, and local levels. The event is supported by the College Arts and Sciences (CAS) Targeted Funding Initiative (TFI).

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