HWS News
1 February 2023 The Death of Tyre Nichols
The HWS community is invited to come together for thoughtful reflection and dialogue on difficult issues around policing, violence, race and privilege following the death of Tyre Nichols.
Hobart Dean Scott Brophy ’78, P’12 will moderate the first Dean’s Fireside Chat of the semester, a discussion with students about the tragic death of Tyre Nichols in Memphis, Tenn. Joining the conversation will be special guests James Schuler, a youth advocate and administrator with Wayne County Youth Advocate Programs, Inc. (YAP), and Associate Professor of Sociology Jim Sutton, whose scholarship explores criminology, including the justice system, prisons and policing.
The event will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 2, in the Vandevort Room of the Scandling Campus Center. It is free and open to the public.
Schuler is an assistant director with YAP and does vital mentorship and support work with youth in the community, which he has returned to after serving 10 years in prison for drug possession. In 2022, he was recognized for his work with the HWS Community Partner of the Year Award from the Center for Community Engagement and Service Learning. A recent article about Schuler in The Neighborhood Advocate describes YAP as a national nonprofit “that partners with youth justice, child welfare, behavioral health, and public safety systems to provide community-based alternatives to youth incarceration, congregate residential placements, and neighborhood violence.”
A national expert in criminology, Sutton teaches sociology courses on crime, prisons and policing. He has played an integral role in the Second Chances Prison Education Program and has facilitated community-wide conversations on the criminal justice system and the school-to-prison pipeline. On campus, he has organized a speaker series related to crime, victimization and injustice, and in 2018, he was named the Civically Engaged Faculty Member of the Year.
Brophy, who is also a Professor of Philosophy, teaches a course on crime and punishment.
