Forty years of teaching, mentorship: Gala honoring Yeldell to raise scholarship funds for Law & Justice Studies majors

The longest serving professor in Rowan University’s Department of Law & Justice Studies just can’t stop talking about his love of teaching.

“It’s a ton, ton, ton of fun,” says Stanley Yeldell, who came to then-Glassboro State College in 1974, just two years after the department was established. “Teaching gives you the chance to motivate students, to give back to them, and to tell them, ‘You’re going to make it. You are.’”

In a remarkable, 40-year career, Yeldell’s influence on students includes his classroom teaching—his “Victimology” courses are legendary--as well as 25 stellar years as his department’s internship coordinator. In that role, he works feverishly to place students in internship opportunities that provide extraordinary work experiences and often lead to full-time employment.

Distinguished mentees

Yeldell’s mentees comprise a virtual “Who’s Who” of the law enforcement and legal communities throughout the State of New Jersey and beyond.  They include, among many others, N.J. Senator Fred H. Madden, Jr., plus a plethora of judges, prosecuting and defense attorneys, police chiefs, state troopers, public safety directors, probation officers, college professors, and military officers.

Now, those mentees are joining with members of the Rowan, law enforcement and legal communities to honor Yeldell for four decades of teaching. On Saturday, Nov. 15, the College of Humanities & Social Sciences (CHSS) and the Department of Law & Justice Studies will present “40 Years With Dr. Stanley Yeldell: An Anniversary Celebration” at 7 p.m. in the Eynon Ballroom of Rowan’s Chamberlain Student Center on the Glassboro campus.

The event will raise funds for the Dr. Stanley B. Yeldell Scholarship Fund. Scholarship funds will be presented to a Law & Justice Studies major who exemplifies academic excellence, leadership potential, and community service.  The goal for the gala is to raise $25,000—or more—in scholarship monies.

Law & Justice Hall of Fame

Additionally, the gala will include the establishment of Rowan’s Law & Justice Studies Hall of Fame. Mark Chamberlain, the University’s late president who established the Department of Law & Justice Studies, will be the first Hall of Fame inductee. Yeldell will be the second. Tickets for the gala are $75 and can be ordered online through Wednesday, Nov. 12, by visiting alumni.rowan.edu/yeldell40.

“Dr. Chamberlain approved for our department to be in existence,” says Yeldell, noting that Chamberlain’s wife, Barbara, will represent her husband at the induction ceremony. “It’s fitting that he, as a former president, be the first inductee into our Hall of Fame.”

It’s fitting, too, that Yeldell will be the second, notes Cindy Vitto, dean of CHSS. The Law & Justice Studies Department boasts more than 5,500 alumni, many of whom have had the privilege of learning from the energetic, ever-positive Yeldell. Nearly 675 students are Law & Justice Studies majors at Rowan, making the major the most popular in CHSS.

“With a department so large, it’s vitally important to have faculty members who are invested in knowing their students and making sure that each one receives the best possible education,” says Vitto. “From the beginning of his career here, Dr. Yeldell has paid attention to students as individuals. He has mentored them, found internships that suit their strengths, and created opportunities for them to experience leadership.

“He continues to amaze me not because he cares intensely for students, but also because he remains a dynamic, forward-thinking professional. After 40 years, he continues to come up with new ideas and has the energy and determination to transform those ideas into reality.”

Nearly 300 people from along the eastern seaboard are expected to attend the gala, which will include tributes from Madden, who graduated from the program in 1980 and is a former acting superintendent of the New Jersey State Police; Rowan President Ali Houshmand;  Penny McPherson Barnes, Rowan’s associate dean of academic enrichment and director of EOF/MAP; 1993 alumna Debbie (Shoemaker) Patch, associate director of public safety at Villanova University; Kirk Eleazer, special agent for the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA); and Richard Jones, Rowan’s vice president for student life/dean of students.

Former Woodbury City police officer Jeff Schwartz, a 1987 alumnus who now teaches Law & Justice Studies, will emcee the program.

‘Highly engaging, interesting, extremely knowledgeable’

“Professor Yeldell’s courses prepared me for what would happen every day on my job as a police officer,” says Schwartz. “He inspired me to go into the field. He got me the internship that led to my full-time employment. And some years ago, he told me I’d be a good teacher.

“His greatest gift is his personality,” continues Schwartz, noting that Yeldell is famous for his “Stan-isms”—words of wisdom delivered his way. “He’s highly engaging, interesting and extremely knowledgeable.”

“Out of the 10 Law & Justice Studies classes I took, six were with him,” adds Patch, who has enjoyed a meteoric rise in higher education public safety. “I looked forward to going to his classes because he was engaging, fun and knowledgeable. The strong foundation I received in legal and law enforcement courses at Rowan helped me accomplish my goals and excel quickly in my field. Dr. Yeldell had a meaningful impact on me and my career.”

Prestigious internships

Each year, Yeldell places Law & Justice Studies majors in internships in more than 25 state and local agencies. In the past 15 years, 30 Rowan students—the most in any college or university in the state—have completed prestigious internships with the DEA in offices in Maple Shade, Camden and Newark.

Not one to stand pat, five years ago Yeldell worked with Rowan’s Department of Public Safety to establish the Student Patrol Program, which provides students with practical applications to their coursework. After intense instruction on diverse topics ranging from CPR to SWAT procedures to Homeland Security issues, students conduct overnight patrols on Rowan’s campus.

Yeldell’s stewardship of the program earned him the Distinguished Civilian Award from the New Jersey College and University Public Safety Association (CUPSA). He was the first professor ever honored by CUPSA.

“Sixty percent of our Student Patrol members are now employed by law and justice agencies,” Yeldell, author of a manual on criminal justice internships, says with pride.

He attributes his track record of placing students into meaningful internships to a rigorous academic program in his department and strong partnership building.

“We produce students we’re proud of. And we’ve established relationships with agencies,” says Yeldell.

Mentoring, motivating

His own mentors put him on a path to mentor others, Yeldell says. At Bowie State University, Yeldell, a gifted basketball player, had professors who went out of their way to land him internships and entrance into law school at Howard University, he says.

The first-ever political science major to graduate from Bowie State, Yeldell attended Howard’s law school on a scholarship from the Ford Foundation. In between, he was the first-ever African American legislative intern in the state of Maryland under Senator Edward Conroy.

“The mentoring process started for me at Bowie State. That’s where I began to understand myself,” says Yeldell. “I had great professors in college and in law school. They treated me as though I was their son. They told me I was expected to give back.”

Forty years into an unexpected career—“I thought I’d be gone after three or for years,” he says—Yeldell continues to give back…to mentor, to motivate.

“I relish all of the students I’ve taught,” he says. “I’ve always believed that if you believe in your cause, you will go the whole nine yards. And I do.”