BGSU, Ohio attorney general name first director of Center for the Future of Forensic Science

BOWLING GREEN, O.—The Bureau of Criminal Investigation facility currently under construction on the Bowling Green State University campus will also be the home of the Ohio Attorney General’s Center for the Future of Forensic Science. On Sept. 11, BGSU President Mary Ellen Mazey and Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine announced that Dr. Jon E. Sprague will serve as the first director of the center.

“Bowling Green State University is pleased to welcome Dr. Jon Sprague,” Mazey said. “Dr. Sprague brings a wealth of scientific knowledge and expertise, and we look forward to the energy and passion he will bring to the center.”

Most recently, Sprague served as the University Director of Academic Research and Head of Pharmaceutical Sciences for the College of Pharmacy at Ferris State University. Before joining Ferris State, he served as dean and professor of pharmacology at the Raabe College of Pharmacy at Ohio Northern University. He has also been chair and professor of pharmacology at the Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine located on the campus of Virginia Tech University. He received his Ph.D. in pharmacology and toxicology from Purdue University, where he also was on the faculty in the College of Pharmacy.

A partnership between BGSU and the Ohio Attorney General’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation, the center’s mission is to foster innovative forensic scientific research and create training opportunities for forensic professionals and for students in forensic science-related fields. The center will focus on the applied needs of forensic disciplines to drive research development and advance forensic science. It will also serve as a resource for the professional development of forensic science practitioners and other students interested in forensic science.

“The Ohio Attorney General’s Center for the Future of Forensic Science will help train a new generation of forensic scientists and also advance research and scientific discoveries,” said DeWine. “We are excited that our partnership between BCI and Bowling Green State University will come to life through the teaching and research of the center, and that the Ohio law enforcement community will be able to tap into the expertise of Dr. Sprague and the center to help solve crimes.”

The BCI building is expected to open this fall. The state-of-the-art crime lab, located on North College Drive and Leroy Avenue, will provide investigative and laboratory services for law enforcement in a 22-county region.