Forensic Psychology added as new major at local college

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A local college is stepping in to fill a gap left by the closure of the College of Saint Rose for a major that's been gaining popularity. Russell Sage College has received approval from the New York State Education Department to roll out the bachelor's program for Forensic Psychology in the fall of 2024.

The director of the program, Dr. Christina Lane, an associate professor at Russell Sage teaches criminology. Her students learn about predatory and criminal behavior. It's an area of study that's garnering more attention.

"You have this glamorization of violence on TV such as "Dexter," and people go, 'I love him,'" Dr. Lane explained.

That interest from TV shows and crime podcasts has popularized the curriculum Dr. Lane created. She teaches forensic psychology through a blend of criminal justice, psychology and law. "I teach them theories of criminal behavior and explaining why criminals engage in such horrific acts of violence," she said.

It's a program she developed at Saint Rose before moving over to Russell Sage. Many of her students have followed her to the Russell Sage campus.

Ayla Vankuren, who took criminal behavior courses with Dr. Lane, was one of those students. "It's never as easy as black and white. And this is what happened, what didn't happen. It's much deeper," she said.

The Criminal Investigation Resource Center at Russell Sage, known as CIRC, also gives students real-world experiences. The center allows them to work on cold cases while providing understaffed law enforcement agencies an extra set of hands. "The whole point is when they give us these cases that we actually breathe life into these cases," Dr. Lane added.

From their previous work at Saint Rose some of Dr. Lane's students have already helped local departments piece together more information, like in the homicide of Ruth Whitman in Colonie, which has been unsolved since 1959. Dr. Lane stated, "The work we've coordinated and organized led to exhumation for Ruth Whitman."

Vankuren added, "There is just no other feeling than being able to help or just be there for families and know that their voices are being heard."

She one day hopes to become a crime analyst. "To help close or solve these cases or just give families some sort of closure. That's ideally where I'd like to go," Vankuren said.

There are only about two dozen bachelor's degree programs in forensic psychology in the United States.  Russell Sage's program already has 10 students enrolled for the fall semester with many of them are transfers from Saint Rose.