West Virginia Universitys acclaimed Forensic and Investigative Sciences Program notched another success last week when it was awarded a five-year accreditation through the American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Well, its just one more validation of what were doing,program director Dr. Clifton Bishop said of the designation that was granted after the academys annual gathering Feb. 25 in New Orleans.

WVUs program is one of about 10 across the United States to be granted full accreditation by the academy.

The thing that makes this especially heartening and gratifying,said Bishop, a biologist and geneticist by training,is that its coming from a whole host of people, from law enforcement professionals to academics.

The accreditation process, Bishop explained, is especially significant in the field of forensic science education.

Before the whole process was developed, crime lab directors were a little reluctant to consider candidates with degrees in forensic science,he said.Thats because there was no real standard to ensure that graduates had gained enough knowledge to actually work in the lab or in the field.

Everyone from detectives to dentists make up the academys 5,600 members, who practice their trade in all 50 U.S. states, Canada and more than 50 other countries across the globe.

The accreditation was officially given by the academys Forensic Science Educational Accreditation Commission, a long-standing committee that serves as an overseeing group within the academy.

Its been quite a run for us,said Max Houck, a former FBI forensic investigator who directs WVU s Forensic Science Initiative, which operates in tandem with Forensic and Investigative Sciences Program.

Weve got facilities like none other in the world,said Houck, who is known internationally for his work as an investigator.Im proud to say that were a world leader in forensic education. Weve got the instructors and the students who are really adding to our prestige and our credibility.

Those facilities include twocrime scenehouses and garage on the Evansdale campus, where many of the 400-plus students enrolled in classes work through scenarios depicting murders, hit-and-run fatalities, suicides, robberies, kidnappings and drive-by shootings.

Instructors include the programs two newest hires: Michael Bell, a former crime scene investigator for the New Mexico State Police who came out of retirement to join WVU ; and Dr. Keith Morris, who headed South Africas national crime lab system before relocating to America and Morgantown solely on the reputation of WVU s forensic programs.

And the students are showing their grit in a rigorous pre-medicine type curriculum that concentrates just as heavily on the hard sciences as it does the hard scenes of any crime investigation.

Work in the classroom at the crime scene facilities is balanced out by real-world internships at police departments, crime labs and medical examiners offices from Washington, D.C. to Texas.

Dr. Jonathan Cumming, who chairs Department of Biology in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, praised the program and its most recent honor, saying its consistent success shows a good mesh between researchers and administrators at the states flagship university.

The accreditation points to the high quality of the program,Cumming said.Its a reflection of the hard work and insight of Clif Bishop, Max Houck, the forensic faculty, and of course, continued vision and support from the administration.

WVUs forensic effort began in earnest in 1997, when the University joined forces with the FBI to create the worlds first degree program in forensic identification. Four students enrolled as majors during its first year.

Forensic programs here have since gone on the gain national attention, including a profile most recently in The Chronicle of Higher Education. Other stories have appeared in The Washington Post, USA Weekend, Rolling Stone, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Washington Times, among others.

Last November, WVU became home to the library holdings of the International Association for Identification, one of the oldest and largest forensic science organizations in the world.