Racial Justice Expert To Head John Jay’s Policing Equity Push

‘Science to Shape Policy’

“My work uses science to forge new languages of justice and shape policy, and there is no college in the country that shares that mission so closely as John Jay,” Dr. Goff said.

“I am very excited about this confluence of opportunities for John Jay College,” said the college’s president, Jeremy Travis, “and more importantly, for the broader community, which is poised for new thinking about the role of the police, particularly a new relationship between police and communities of color.”

Christopher Oechsli, president and CEO of The Atlantic Philanthropies, said Mr. Goff will work with John Jay to “create a hub for research, policy advocacy, teach­ing and mentorship that will yield new knowledge and bring new talent to change policing practices. By demonstrating how data and evidence on implicit bias can promote fairness in policing actions, they will help police departments across the nation uphold the dignity and rights of the communities they serve.”

Founded Equity Center

Dr. Goff is co-founder of the influential Center for Policing Equity, a think-tank that brings together law-enforcement agencies and leading researchers to study policing-equity issues, including race and implicit bias, and provide a scientific basis for reforms in participating police departments.

Mr. Thomas, for whom the professorship was named, was president of the Ford Foundation from 1979 to 1996, and was the first black man to serve as NYPD Dep­uty Commissioner for Legal Matters from 1965-67. He is a native of Bedford-Stuy­ve­sant, Brooklyn.