WESTFIELD – The Westfield State University Department of Alumni Relations will hold its inaugural Westfield State University Criminal Justice Alumni Hall of Fame on Saturday, April 9 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Scanlon Banquet Hall.
The Westfield State Criminal Justice Alumni Hall of Fame honors alumni who have excelled in the field. Eleven alumni will be honored in this inaugural event and this year’s inductees represent the diversity of the law enforcement field and the various paths Westfield State students can embark on in their careers after graduation.
The Westfield State Criminal Justice Alumni Hall of Fame was created by the Westfield State University Criminal Justice Alumni group. The newly formed group was established by alumna and former Superintendent Colonel Marian McGovern ’88 of the Massachusetts State Police who noticed Westfield State’s presence in the criminal justice field during her 33-year career.
“Alumni Relations and the Criminal Justice Alumni Group are proud to induct our first class of nominees,” said Kathi Bradford, director of Alumni Relations. “These criminal justice professionals have given back to the department time and again, serving as role models for our students and validating the quality of the university’s undergraduate and master’s programs.”
This year’s recipients are:
Colonel John Aho, USMC (Ret.) Class of 1985: Colonel John Aho currently serves as a senior strategic policy analyst for American Systems Corporation, supporting the Department of Defense Non-Lethal Weapons Program. Prior to retiring after 25 years of active commissioned service, Colonel Aho served as a director on the National Security Council staff where he supported two National Security Advisors and both President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama on critical defense matters.
Special Agent Dale Armstrong, Class of 1985: Agent Armstrong is currently a Certified Protection Professional (CPP) through the American Society of Industrial Security (ASIS). Armstrong joined the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) in 1987 as a special agent assigned to investigate violent gang crime and firearms trafficking as well as criminal arsons and bombings in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He worked for the ATF for more than two decades in various roles and locations.
Judge David J. Dacyczyn, Class of 1982: After graduating from Westfield State and working as a Deputy Sheriff/Correctional Officer for the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department, Dacyczyn furthered his education, earning an M.A. in political science and administration from Sam Houston State University and a J.D. from the New England School of Law. He accepted a commission as an Ensign in the United States Navy Reserve as an intelligence officer. In April 2011, then Commander Dacyczyn was mobilized to Bagram, Afghanistan where he served as the Deputy Director for Task Force Biometrics until May of 2012. When Judge Dacyczyn returned home from Afghanistan, he resumed his career in the Probate and Family Court.
Edward Deveau, Class of 1978: Watertown Police Chief Ed Deveau retired in 2015 after fourteen years as chief and 32 years on the force. He was thrust into the national spotlight two years ago, following the dramatic shoot-out with the Boston Marathon bombers, and the 20-hour search for convicted bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. He has also testified at Congressional Hearings on the lessons learned from the Boston Marathon bombings and manhunt in Watertown.
Special Agent Michael Devine, Class of 1982: In 1984, Devine received his Direct Commission as an Ensign in the U.S. Navy Reserve. Devine began his civilian career as a Special Agent with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service Assigned to Naval Station San Diego, CA where he specialized in crimes against persons. In 2013, Devine retired from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service with twenty-four years of service. In 2015, he was promoted to the Director of the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) for the Western Region, responsible for managing healthcare fraud investigations for Anthem Blue Cross for the western United States.
William Fallon, Class of 1989: Currently, Commander Fallon serves as the Vice-Chair on the Federal Law Enforcement Training Accreditation Board, the Department of Justice Learning & Development Council and the International Association of Chiefs of Police’s Education and Training Committee. In 2011, Fallon was appointed to the Senior Executive Service and appointed as Assistant Director for the USMS Training Division (TD). Fallon also served as the interim, U.S. Attorney General appointed United States Marshal in all three Districts, including an 18-month appointment in Massachusetts.
Colonel (ret.) Thomas Foley, Class of 1976: Serving as the Deputy Division Commander of Investigative Services in September 2001, Foley helped coordinate the State Police response to the World Trade Center bombing. Later that year he was appointed Colonel/Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police. During his tenure as Colonel he worked closely with local, state and federal officials to put in new programs, procedures and training to prepare our state for the new world terrorist threat. A former member of the Westfield State University Board of Trustees, Foley currently serves as the Director of Public Safety at Elms College.
Sergeant Jeremy Forbes, Class of 1995: Sergeant Jeremy Forbes is a member of the Maine State Police. Forbes was the lead investigator in the search for escaped New Hampshire prison inmate David Hobson. He was able to identify and establish a relationship with a known associate of Hobson, who later contacted him to advise where Hobson was located. He was subsequently arrested based on this information. Sergeant Forbes has also been a successful K9 handler for the past 17 years
Captain Raymond Gonsalves, Class of 1991: During Captain Gonsalves’s 25 year career he has served the Department of Correction in many roles, performing background investigations for new hires and eventually became the lead trainer to certify new investigators. He also oversees the development and instruction of in-service training curriculum for more than 3,200 employees on an annual basis to meet the American Correctional Association Standard. Captain Gonsalves is a member of the Correctional Peace Officers Foundation National Honor Guard and the International Association of Correctional Training Personnel.
Chief Jody Kasper, Class of 1991, 2001, 2006: Chief Jody Kasper has been with the Northampton Police Department since 1998. After almost two decades on the force and a lengthy selection process, Kasper was sworn in as Northampton’s first female police chief in June 2015. Kasper taught as an adjunct professor at Elms College for ten years and also teaches a variety of police trainings in the areas of motivation and morale, progressive police supervision, and comprehensive police safety programs.
Agent Thomas O’Connor, Class of 1990: O’Connor is the Vice President of the FBI Agents Association, a non-governmental association dedicated to providing support and advocacy to over 13,000 member agents. Prior to joining the FBI SA O’Connor was a Detective Sergeant with a the Northampton Police Department for 15 years where he specialized in narcotics/gang and violent crimes investigation. O’Connor has deployed internationally to investigate shooting incidents in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
“It was very exciting news,” Kasper said Wednesday.
Kasper, who was sworn in as the Northampton’s first female police chief last June, is the only woman among Westfield State’s honorees. She joined the Northampton Police Department in 1998 as a bike patrol officer and later moved her way up through the detective bureau.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice as well as two master’s degrees from Westfield State in criminal justice and public administration.
“I kept going back,” Kasper said, explaining that after transferring to Westfield State from Greenfield Community College in her junior year, she found the school to have a great criminal justice program.
Kasper said she received strong mentoring from several instructors, crediting one criminal justice professor in particular, Kimberly Tobin, with fueling an interest in research and statistics. And Northampton city planner Wayne Feiden taught a class on public policy.
“As a criminal justice major you don’t get a lot of experience and work in policy development,” Kasper said. “He was great and really wrapped my head around public policy which is incredibly beneficial.”
Tickets are $25 and can be purchased at www.westfield.ma.edu/CJHOF. Following the event, participants are invited to embark on a campus tour.
For more information, contact Victoria Landry at (413) 485-7469 or [email protected].
Daily Hampshire Gazette writer Stephanie McFeeters contributed to this article.
