HUNTINGTON -- About $2 million in federal money will be a major boost for Marshall University's forensics center as it strives to become one of the nation's elite programs.
The Marshall Forensic Science Center received $1.5 million from the National Institute of Justice for DNA training courses, and nearly $511,000 from the NIJ for FBI training courses in crime scene investigation, crime scene photography and other pertinent fields.
The money will help the forensic center in its goal of establishing a National Institute of Forensic Science Education in Huntington, said center director Terry Fenger.
Fenger said the center already offers courses to forensic analysts and law enforcement from across the country, all of whom come to Huntington specifically for the training offered at the forensic center.
"Our training is directed toward a national audience, and has been for a number of years," Fenger said. "People fly from all over to come into Huntington to our facility, where they learn all of the various aspects of how to best review a crime scene and preserve evidence, or, in the case of analysts, we train them in the most advanced DNA technologies."
The forensic science program at Marshall also offers training for nurse examiners from West Virginia and contiguous states, and a master's degree program in forensics.
"You put it all together, and it truly is national in scope," Fenger said. "That's why we want to found an institute, because we're a national resource."
The national outreach helps the university and its students, he said.
"There are indirect benefits," Fenger said. "When students look at our program, which is accredited in its own right, and they see that we're interactive on a national level, they see that we have connections that will help them when it comes to looking for jobs.
"There are a lot of spinoffs from this."
Fenger said Marshall is among the top forensic science initiatives in the country.
"When we go to national meetings, Marshall is well-represented."
The two grants were announced Tuesday through the office of Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., who offered a written statement commending the research conducted at the forensic center.
"This important work is helping to put criminals behind bars," Byrd said.
