Waterloo resident Dr. Steven Doeren was recently awarded the Ottawa (Kansas) University Alumni Association Distinguished Service Award for his work in the field of criminal justice.

The award is the highest honor alumni of the university can receive. The award recognizes individuals or couples who have demonstrated exceptional service in the community over a span of time.

Doeren earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology from Ottawa University, a Master of Arts in sociology from the University of New Mexico and his Ph.D. in sociology from Louisiana State University with specializations in criminology, criminal justice and corrections.

He served as first director of the East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney’s Office Victim/Witness Assistance Bureau. It has been recognized as one of the nation’s finest by the International Association of Chiefs of Police. 

As director, he helped administer the Stop Rape Crisis Center which received exemplary status from the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration.

Doeren then spent 14 years as a tenured professor at Wichita State University in its nationally recognized Department of Administration of Justice. He served as the department’s graduate program coordinator and undergraduate coordinator for several years.

He is most proud of the role he played in teaching, the mentorship and advising of thousands of students who have gone on to distinguished careers in criminal justice as local, state and federal law enforcement officers and administrators; judges, lawyers and prosecuting attorneys; teachers and university professors; probation and parole officers; social workers and government officials. 

Many of his students have made significant contributions to the State of Kansas Department of Corrections as department directors and as wardens of several of its correctional facilities.

Among his numerous publications are two coauthored books which are considered leading books in their fields: “Community Corrections” and “Security and Crime Prevention.”

Doeren had served as the president of the world’s largest forensic membership association for five years, and he received the Pat Tillman Award in 2004 for founding the nation’s largest private sector homeland security program immediately after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Community service has been a focal point throughout his career. He served as the president and member of the executive board of directors of the August Eleven Council, a crime victim assistance organization; a member of the executive committee and board of directors of The Halfway House for Adults; a member of the board of directors of Lorraine House, a residential treatment program for justice involved youth; co-chairperson of the Inter-Faith Ministries Jail and Prison Task Force; a member of the State Security Hospital Advisory Board at Larned State Hospital; a member of the board of directors of Senior Services, Inc.; a consultant to the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office to establish and secure funding for a Victim/Witness Assistance Bureau; and a reviewer/program evaluator for the Wichita-Sedgwick County Metropolitan Area Planning Department. 

He also served as a volunteer psychiatric ward clerk at the Bernalillo County Mental Health Center and a volunteer tutor in the children’s ward at the Bernalillo County Hospital. 

Additional community services were provided for the Foster Grandparent Program, Special Olympics, Wichita Law Day Conferences, the Platte County Senior Citizen Center, Northland Neighbors, Inc. and the Mid-Continent Regional Library.

Doeren moved to Waterloo several years ago from Kansas City, Mo., to be closer to his oldest son and his family.