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38 The College of New Jersey Magazine never forget, I spent my 21st birthday in the library. I liked learning things." After graduating, he earned a PhD in criminology and criminal justice at the University of Maryland, with an eye toward teaching. But as he studied academic theory, he was simultane- ously drawn to practical experience. "Theories don't matter if you can't develop legal, ethical, moral, and effi- cacious policies," he said. While he pursued his doctorate, Mazeika held a full-time job at the Statistical Analysis Center at the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council in Washington, D.C., an "If I didn't have Dave and his students to call upon, either it would take me much longer to try to do that work myself, or it would be something that we might not be able to afford," Ford says. "I've heard of newspapers working with journalism students but I don't think I've heard of any working with criminology students. That, I do think, is unique and pretty cool." For Mazieka, the partnership pro- vides a chance to pursue the applied research he loves in a venue that can reach a wide audience. "I think we're all in this to make a difference," he says. "At least I am." " Dave's the embodiment of what a real-world criminologist should do — his work is focused on improving the justice system, and therefore the quality of life for everyone. " — Bruce Stout Mazeika's interest in criminology emerged decades ago, in front of the television. "Two words," he says, identifying his inspiration, "The X-Files." He attended Rowan University with dreams of becoming an FBI agent until poor eyesight thwarted his ambitions. "I realized I probably wasn't going to get a federal law enforcement job on the street with a badge and a gun like Mulder," he says, referring to one of The X-Files protagonists. "I had to reevaluate my career plans." By his sophomore year, Mazeika discovered a passion for research. "I became much more academically inclined and bookish," he says. "I'll independent agency with a mission of improving public safety across the district. It was here that he dove deeply into a wide range of subjects, from teen and truancy court diversion programs to victim-offender media- tion and electronic monitoring. Mazeika's desire to teach didn't diminish, but his broad interest in criminal justice issues took him along a nontraditional path; instead of solely publishing academic papers, he was also writing government reports, evaluating programs, and securing grants to help agencies upgrade record management systems. "Historically, being a good academic is about having laser focus on one

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