Associate Professor Richard Seiter knows a few tidbits about the United States federal prison system and how it works. He also knows how to travel well.
Moving from state to state, Seiter has worked in nearly every type of federal prison job offered. He has done everything from being the Ohio State Correctional System Director to being a prison warden at Greenville, Illinois, to working in a federal prison camp in Alabama.
Now he is teaching at Saint Louis University, hoping to educate new criminal justice majors using his vast experiences from the field.
Seiter, who signed with SLU in the second semester last year, teaches various criminal justice and sociology classes after retiring in December 1998.
“I felt like I could bring [my experiences] to students,” said Seiter. “I’ve taught criminology, sociology, and through this I try to put it in a more practical sense.”
After earning his degree from Ohio State University in 1975, Richard Seiter began work in the federal prison system moving around the country in various staffing positions.
“I found the job [of being a prison warden] a very challenging, twenty-four hours, seven days a week job. However, at the same time, [I found the job] extremely enjoyable and rewarding,” said Seiter.
After twenty-three years in the federal prison system, Seiter enjoys working with students and guiding new criminal justice majors to rewarding and successful careers.
Criminal Justice focuses on three branches closely paralleling Sociology. “You have law enforcement, the courts, and the correctional system,” said Seiter.
Going into each division depends on the students’ aspirations and goals in the criminal justice system.
“There has to be something in your life that directs you toward some specific discipline,” said Seiter. “[The aspirations and goals] brings people in [to us] and say, “I want to consider a career in criminal justice.”
In order to help students determine what branch of criminal justice or sociology to study under, Seiter assists by bringing various law enforcement and other criminal justice personnel to SLU through his position as advisor of the Association of Criminal Justice and Sociology.
Dr. Seiter looks forward to the upcoming semester, and hopes that through his experiences students can gain valuable resources for their later careers.
