U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., announced Tuesday (July 31, 2001) that West Virginia University will receive more than $1.6 million that he added to a federal appropriations bill last fall for the University’s Forensic Identification program.

“For decades, police investigations have relied on interviews and ballistics results. Today, forensic science is opening new doors for investigators and providing important evidence in thousands of cases. The funding that I obtained for West Virginia University’s (WVU) specialized forensic training will help to provide students with the skills necessary to make this science a more intrinsic part of criminal investigations,”Byrd said.

Specifically, the funding that Byrd included in an appropriations bill last fall will be used to expand technology training, improve ties to state and local police departments, and strengthen the curricula of the Forensic Identification program.

WVU became the first university in the world to offer its specialized undergraduate degree when it signed an agreement with the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Criminal Justice Information Services Division in Clarksburg in 1997.

“Since its creation, the WVU Forensic Identification effort has blossomed into a top-flight academic program, attracting students from throughout the nation. Because of our one-of-a-kind curricula that blends classroom study with field and laboratory analysis, WVU graduates will be in high demand for law enforcement careers,” WVU President David C. Hardesty, Jr., explained.

“When we started this program in 1997, we could only imagine the interest it would draw, not only from students but also from law enforcement agencies seeking well-trained, highly skilled forensic scientists. Today, the successes we have made in just four years are serving as a standard of excellence for other universities to follow,”

Hardesty said. The more than $1.6 million will be released to WVU by the U.S. Department of Justice.