Justice Department Faculty and Staff
The faculty for the Bachelor of Arts in Justice, and Master of Arts in Justice Administration, represent unique and extensive experience in the areas each of us teach. In addition to the faculty currently in the Department on-campus, instructors are sought throughout the country who have established themselves with special knowledge and expertise. Thus, a candidate for the Degrees will have access to a wide range of instructors with varying backgrounds and strengths.
Mike Daku , Director, Justice Department
(907) 474-5717
Professor Daku serves as Director of the Justice Department. As a member of the Justice Faculty, his areas of teaching and expertise have included Juvenile Delinquency, Corrections, Program Management, and Substance Abuse issues. He has lived and worked in Fairbanks since 1978, and has extensive experience in the management/supervision of offender-based treatment programs dealing with both adults and juveniles. He is also an avid outdoorsman and runner.
Brian Jarrett
(907) 474-6790
Professor Jarrett is a lawyer and professional mediator and arbitrator in both the United States and Canada. He also holds a Ph.D. in Sociology. His interests include Mediation, Arbitration Dispute Systems Design (DSD), Restorative Practices and Therapeutic Jurisprudence (TJ). In recent years he has originated work in Integral Mediation, which promotes interdisciplinary practices in mediation. His practice ranges from work with local communities to international organizations. In both his written work and classroom teaching, Professor Jarrett works to bridge theory and practice in the field of Dispute Resolution.
Brian Jarrett and Mike Jackson, Magistrate and Peacemaking Keeper of the Circle, Kake, Alaska
Jeff May
(907) 474-5715
Professor May received his Law Degree from the University of Montana. He also holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Justice and Master’s Degree in Justice Administration earned from this University. Originally from Montana, Jeff moved to Alaska in 2000. Before joining the faculty Jeff worked as a law clerk for Fairbanks Superior Court Judge Mark I. Wood. Jeff continues to engage in law practice as his University schedule permits. Jeff currently teaches courses in Justice Ethics, Criminal Law, Procedural Law, and civil liability concerns in justice administration. Jeff’s free time is filled with spending time with his family and the outdoors. His hobbies include camping, hunting, and fishing.
Gary Copus(Emeritus)
(907) 474-6678
Dr. Copus received his Ph.D. from the University of Missouri, Columbia campus. He also holds a Bachelor's Degree in Biology from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Master's in Criminology from Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, Texas. Dr. Copus has conducted research at both the national and local levels. His research interest is currently focused on questions of Native Alaskans who are imprisoned in the State Department of Corrections. Teaching areas are introduction to justice, research methods, police problems, criminology, and public policy of crime control. Dr. Copus is also active in the aviation community as a private pilot, ground school instructor for the Community College and flight instructor.
Jeff Bumgarner(Master's Degree Program Only)
Dr. Jeff Bumgarner is a licensed peace officer and police firearms instructor with 11 years experience in federal and local law enforcement. He is also an officer in the United States Army Reserve. He holds an MPA in Public Administration from Northern Illinois University and a Ph.D. in Human Resource Development from the University of Minnesota. Previously he was a faculty member of the Department of Criminal Justice at Minnesota State University where he taught policing and management related courses. In addition to his position as a graduate faculty member in the Justice Department at UAF, he is currently a faculty member of the Department of Criminal Justice at Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, TX.
Lou Brown, Administrative Assistant
(907) 474-5500
Lou received her Bachelor's degree in Italian with a French minor in 1984 from San Francisco State University. This means she lived too much of her life California but came home to Alaska for the first time in 1988. Before coming to UAF on 2004, she worked primarily in the non-profit arena writing grant proposals and volunteering for groups advocating for everything from small business opportunities for the Deaf to creation of an early college high school. At UAF, she was development coordinator and a Title III program manager or the Interior-Aleutians Campus, and, later held a similar position with the College of Rural and Community Development Health Programs. Now, she has had the good fortune to come to the Justice Department. Lou joined the Justice team in early 2012 and has been playing catch up ever since.