Faculty

Scott Hoke, Ph.D., Crime Science Program Director

Dr. Hoke started his career at Cedar Crest College in 2006 after having served as a practitioner in the criminal justice system for 20 years. Prior to receiving his PhD, Dr. Hoke served as an adult probation and parole officer in Northampton County (Pennsylvania) and as a jail administrator at the Northampton County Jail. While an employee of the jail, Dr. Hoke served as an institutional parole officer, Deputy Warden of Treatment, Deputy Warden of Classification, and Acting Warden.

In addition to his experiences in Northampton County, Dr. Hoke served as a technical consultant for the National Institute of Corrections for 10 years, during which time he specialized in teaching jail administrators and organizations management techniques that were designed to better control inmate behavior. Dr. Hoke worked with over 100 jails during that time, ranging in size from as small as 50 beds to as large as 10,000.   

As an academic, Dr. Hoke concentrates his research interests in a number of different areas. Early in his career, most of his research and publications focused on how to control inmate behavior. More recently, he has concentrated his efforts on work involving the spatial distribution of crime and on community-centered program evaluation. Dr. Hoke and his students work with a number of different police departments across the state by providing analytical and crime mapping services to departments who do not have the resources to complete those tasks on their own. In addition, his work with community-based agencies highlights the College’s commitment to community partnerships.

Dr. Hoke received his Ph.D. in criminal justice from Temple University. He also has a Master of Arts degree in Public Administration from Kutztown University and a bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice from Moravian College.

Samantha Goodrich, Ph.D.

Samantha Goodrich serves as Director for Community Innovation & Evaluation within the Department of Community Health at Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN). She received her Master’s and Doctorate degree from the University of Connecticut Department of Human Development and Family Studies, where she focused on prevention and intervention, program evaluation, and quantitative and qualitative data analysis. Samantha is also a Rider-Pool Foundation Collective Impact Fellow.

Samantha is an applied, translational researcher with interest and experience in projects that use cross-sector approaches to build community, using data to inform and mobilize community change. Her work focuses on evaluations of prevention and intervention efforts that promote family and community resilience and on community-level systems changes to improve quality of life and health. This work requires cross-sector collaborations between the healthcare system and community and governmental agencies, fostering trusting partnerships to address social needs.  In line with a developmental evaluation frame, Samantha aims to create the positive conditions for change by helping others to use relevant data, in the form of both narrative and numbers, to inform strategy continually throughout a community change effort. 

Examples of her recent work include an evaluation of a pilot early childhood home visiting program in partnership with the Allentown Promise Neighborhood, development of a community data platform called the Engagement Network platform, coordination and productions of LVHN’s Community Health Needs Assessment, and data sharing around mental health and opioid use disorder to inform local strategies in the community.

Carol J. Ritter, M.S., D-ABC, Instructor of Forensic Science Programs

Carol Ritter joined Cedar Crest College as a full-time faculty member in the fall of 2016, mentoring research students and teaching undergraduate and graduate forensic science courses/laboratories in forensic pattern analysis, crime scene reconstruction, and DNA analysis. Her professional experience includes 20 years as a forensic scientist with the Pennsylvania State Police Crime Laboratory, where she analyzed controlled drug substances, burglary, sexual assault, and homicide cases and utilized bloodstain patterns to reconstruct crime scenes. 

She is certified by the American Board of Criminalistics, a member of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, and court qualified greater than 50 times at both the state and federal level in drug analysis, body fluid identification, hair identification, and bloodstain pattern reconstruction.  She also served 4 years as the technical co-coordinator for the Pennsylvania state serology section, where she annually audited all 6 state labs, trained new forensic scientists, and provided training to local and state law enforcement agencies in evidence collection and bloodstain pattern reconstruction.

Ms. Ritter’s research focuses on forensic pattern analysis including bloodstain patterns, firearm related tool marks, and footwear impressions as well as hair analysis, entomology, and DNA analysis.

Dr. Micah Sadigh, Professor and Chair of Psychology

Dr. Micah Sadigh is Professor and Chair of Psychology at Cedar Crest College. He is a graduate of Moravian College and Lehigh University. He is a Diplomate in Franklian Psychology and Existential Analysis. Dr. Sadigh is also a Fellow of the International College of Psychosomatic Medicine.   

Dr. Sadigh was the recipient of the Cedar Crest College Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2009. He is the author of five books, including an internationally recognized book on the treatment of chronic pain and stress-related disorders.  His most recent book, Existential Journey: Viktor Frankl and Leo Tolstoy on Suffering, Death, and Search for Meaning received strong reviews in national and international journals.

Dr. Sadigh’s other publications include work on sleep disorders, personality disorders, Applied Psychophysiology, the psychophysiological treatment of pain, and treatment of post-traumatic disorder.  In recent years, he has published several papers on theoretical and philosophical aspects of psychology.  He frequently lectures at national, and international conferences.

Jane Tyler Ward, Ph.D., Psychology

Dr. Ward has been a psychology professor teaching forensic psychology courses as well as developmental courses, adjustment, personality theory, and courses for the Child Welfare Certificate offered at the College. She is also a practicing psychotherapist since 1996 working with individuals and families. Her practice includes court-referred counseling with children and families, and she has been an expert witness in child development and memory, adolescent development, and psychology in a number of counties in Pennsylvania.

Her most recent research and presentations have been on children’s memory, the use of films in applying psychological principles and theories, and issues related to co-parenting in high conflict divorce. She is a member of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, the Lehigh Valley Psychological and Counseling Association, and he American Mental Health Counselors Association.

Paul Werrell

Mr. Paul Werrell has been a Criminal Justice Instructor at Cedar Crest since 2010. He has taught courses in juvenile justice, victimization, research methods and ethics as well as in leadership, class, race, gender and crime and addictions. His research interests are in the areas of juvenile justice and restorative practices.

He is the consultant for The Impact Project, a foster care agency and assists in the coordination of Lehigh County’s Community Justice Panels. His professional experience includes 36 years with the Lehigh County Juvenile Probation Department as a probation officer and its Chief for 26 years. He has taught criminal justice courses at Lehigh Carbon Community College, Kutztown University, Allentown College and McCann School of Business and Technology.  He is a member of the Juvenile Justice Information Exchange and Restorative Justice International.