Educating people and providing dignified employment offers us the best chance to avoid violence to begin with.
As with many faculty members, Dr. Jakari Griffith鈥檚 life experience has helped shape the educator and researcher he is today.
The assistant professor of management and 2019 Award for Academic Excellence recipient came to Bridgewater State in 2003, after teaching at Salem State College. Early in his career, he focused on management issues revolving around positive psychology and leadership.
Eventually, however, Dr. Griffith, who grew up in Rockland County, New York, found a topic that was closer to home: researching ways to help ex-offenders find suitable employment once they鈥檙e released from prison.
The popular professor is no stranger to the law. Dr. Griffith鈥檚 father is a retired New York City police officer, and, in 2008, his younger brother was a victim of deadly gunfire. Instead of seeking retribution for that terrible act, he turned in the other direction. 鈥淚 honor my brother not only by grieving, but also by my actions,鈥 he said.
Some sort of vengeance, whether it鈥檚 an eye for an eye, a hefty prison sentence or the death penalty, may help t