The two latest high-caliber hires to West Virginia Universitys forensic science curriculum have a world of crime-solving experience between them, from South Africa to New Mexico.

They are Dr. Keith Morris, the former director of the South African National Forensic Laboratory System; and Michael Bell, a former crime scene analyst and forensic chemist for the New Mexico State Police who also worked as a facilities manager at the Los Alamos National Laboratory.

I dont have to tell you that were pretty excited to have these two on board,said Max Houck, a former FBI investigator who now directs WVU s Forensic Science Initiative.Theyre talented, theyre experienced, and theyre respected.

Morris will work as a project manager in the Initiative. He managed 900 employees in the South African crime lab system while overseeing operations of four separate facilities equipped with 42 bomb-disposal and explosive control units.

Bell has already taught classes at WVU as an adjunct professor and will oversee operations at the programs twocrime scenehouses in Evansdale which serve as a training ground for the 400 students enrolled in forensic classes here.

Bell and Morris will add even more prestige to an already landmark program, Houck said.

No other university that Im aware of with a forensic program has attracted an international laboratory director,Houck said of Morris.And Mr. Bell ran multimillion-dollar facilities at Los Alamoswhat more could we want for WVU forensic facilities?

Dr. Clifton Bishop, Houcks literal partner in crime at WVU , agreed.

Dr. Morris brings a whole new international eye to what we do,said Bishop, a biologist by training who heads WVU s Forensic and Investigative Science Program.Just by his presence, hell help us build a better, more interacting community of forensic science researchers.

Bells work here includes the reconfiguring of rooms in the crime scene houses. He plans to turn one room into a bar room scene, while converting another room into a mock-up of a methadone lab.

Both of the new settings will allow instructors greater flexibility in developing crime scene scenarios,Bishop said.

Flexibility and innovation are the hallmarks of the WVU forensic programs, Houck said. And Morris and Bell, he said, fit that profile perfectly.

Those two choosing us is a testament to the kind of work were doing here at WVU ,Houck said.

Houcks assessment couldnt have been better, said Dr. John Weete, who serves as WVU s vice president for Research and Development and president of Universitys Research Corp. that helps oversee operations of the Initiative.

Dr. Morris and Mr. Bell are highly regarded in the field,Weete said,and Im very pleased and very proud that they have chosen to come here. Theyre going to help WVU fulfill its commitment to having the most comprehensive academic forensic program in the country.

WVU s Eberly College of Arts and Sciences in the home of the forensic program, and the Initiative is housed in the WVU Research Corp.

The Initiative was created by funds secured by U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., the states senior lawmaker on Capitol Hill. Monies are administered through the National Institute of Justice.

WVU s forensic program, meanwhile, continues to garner international prestige of its own.

In November, the University will assume the library holdings of the worlds largest and oldest forensic science organization, the International Association for Identification (IAI).

The IAI chose WVU on the strength of its forensic program. This is the first time the organization has ever loaned its books and papers to an outside organization. The holdings date back a hundred years.