Students and faculty in University of Hawaiʻi–West Oʻahu and Leeward Community College’s certificate program in applied forensics anthropology will benefit from a new partnership between the two campuses and the Joint Prisoners of War/Missing in Action Accounting Command at Hickam Air Force Base.
The three institutions recently signed a memorandum of understanding that expands UH West Oʻahu’s current partnership with the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command Central Identification Lab.
The partnership provides forensic anthropology students with opportunities to learn in a field and laboratory environment at the Central Identification Lab, the most prestigious forensic anthropology lab in the nation. The lab’s primary mission is to search for, recover and identify U.S. personnel missing from past military conflicts. Teams from the lab have traveled to Cambodia, Vietnam, North Korea, South Korea, Iraq, the Pentagon after the September 11 terrorist attacks, and all over the world conducting recovery missions.
Instructors from the Central Identification Lab will teach forensic anthropology courses at UH West Oʻahu, and students and faculty are now able to attend classes and receive training at the lab’s Forensic Science Academy at Hickam Air Force Base.
UH West Oʻahu and Leeward Community College faculty members will also be listed as adjunct faculty at Hickam, and Hickam staff will utilize UH West Oʻahu and Leeward Community College campuses for research and training.
Applied forensic anthropology certificate
The certificate program in applied forensic anthropology is offered jointly by UH West Oʻahu and Leeward Community College through in-class instruction, and is awarded by UH West Oʻahu upon completion.
When combined with appropriate associate and bachelor’s degrees, the certificate prepares students for a variety of job opportunities, including crime scene analyst, forensic anthropologist, forensic scientist, and crime lab technician. The program gives students a solid foundation in forensic anthropology and an introduction to the wider field of forensic science.
“The UH West Oʻahu and Leeward Community College campuses that offer this joint certificate in applied forensic anthropology have been so very fortunate to have the world class JPAC/CIL facilities and staff located at nearby Hickam Air Force Base,” said UH West Oʻahu Professor Suzanne Falgout. “Many of our students complete senior culminating practicums there, and several have been further selected for prestigious Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education fellowships or Department of Defense internships.”
