Contact us!
Wilson Hall, Room 204  
816-271-4293
Fax: 816-271-4138

You may contact us with any questions you have about our programs of study.

We encourage you to visit the department and meet with faculty. We are very interested in your education!

“Western prepared me very well for law school and for a career in the legal profession. The professors, being lawyers themselves, gave me a real world view of what law school and the practice of law would be like. I would recommend Western to anyone!”

Melinda A. Troeger, Class of 2001
Attorney at Law

“I graduated with degrees in Legal Assistance and Criminal Justice,
which laid an excellent foundation for me to obtain employment as a paralegal and to continue my education in law school. Having both degrees and work experience with the law gave me a definite advantage in law school and in my career.”

Diane Hook, Class of 1990
Attorney

“The outdoor classroom at Yellowstone National Park is my ‘golden’
memory. What a great experience; I still have the diary of my trip.”

Sergeant Sheldon A. Lyon, Class of 1984
Missouri State Highway Patrol
Public Information and Education Division, Troop H

"After spending over a year in a general practice law firm handling a great deal of family law and traffic matters for a single attorney, I have now joined a firm closer to home. This two-attorney firm mainly specializes in personal injury, although one partner does estate planning, too. As I am their sole employee, they needed a competent individual whom they could trust to do anything. Without my emphasis in Legal Studies from MWSU's CJ/LS Department, I'd be so lost!"

Lyn Rossi, Class of 2006

Paralegal

Mook & Mook, P.C. 

“My education at Western helped me develop skills that I use in the workplace every day. I completed an internship with my present employer, and that helped me secure this job.”

Chad Higdon, Class of 2002
Field Representative
Congressman Sam Graves

“The professors were very experienced in their fields. The Criminal Justice Department professors always went above and beyond with their dedication and assistance. I don’t think I could have found a better college education or experience anywhere else.”

Derek Conard, Class of 1982
Chief Deputy Juvenile Officer
Fifth Judicial Circuit Juvenile Division, State of Missouri

"Over the years, I have come to appreciate the focus of Western instructors on student needs. Also, the professors were all very connected to the community and to local criminal justice agencies, and that was a great benefit to all of us. Now, as the administrator of one of those local criminal justice agencies, I still see that connection 25 years later."

Laura Hibbs, Class of 1979
District Administrator Missouri Department of Corrections, Probation and Parole

MWSU LEGAL STUDIES GRADUATES WHO WENT ON TO LAW SCHOOL

Melinda Troeger MWSU Class of 2001

Diane Hook MWSU Class of 1990

Emily Benitz MWSU Class of 2005 and Kansas State University School of Law Class of 2010

Jennifer McKinley MWSU Class of 2005 and University of Dayton School of Law Class of 2010

David McDonald MWSU Class of 2006 and Washburn University School of Law Class of 2010

Brenda Rose MWSU Class of 2008 and University of Missouri Kansas City School of Law Class of 2012

Angela Tatro MWSU Class of 2008 and Washburn University School of Law Class of 2011