James O’Keefe, Ph.D.

Courses Taught

Criminal Justice Leadership, College of Professional Studies

Professional Affiliations

• In April, 2008, Dr. O’Keefe was appointed an honorary member of the Honor Legion of the City of NewYork Police Department.  He also served as visiting professor for the Westchester County Police Academy.
• On February 2, 2010, Dr. James O’Keefe was appointed by Mayor Paul Buccellato to serve as a commissioner on the newly created Matawan (NJ) Police Commission.  
• On October 31, 2011, the Police Commissioner of the City of New York, the Honorable Raymond W. Kelly, announced the appointment of Dr. James O’Keefe as Deputy Commissioner in the New York City Police Department.
• In February, 2012 he was also recommended by Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly, and appointed by Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, to serve as a member of the New York State Municipal Police Training Council in Albany, NY to oversee law enforcement training in New York State.  

University Affiliations

• During the academic years 2009-2010 and 2010-2011, he was appointed to serve on the Vincentian Institute for Social Action (V.I.S.A.) Faculty Research Consortium – a distinguished inter-disciplinary group of university scholars who guide the field-based research of the St. John’s University Ozanam Scholars.  Dr. O’Keefe’s work with V.I.S.A., and as a senior fellow in the Vincentian Center for Church and Society, was specifically designed to address poverty solutions in the 21st century, and earned the prestigious “St. John’s University - St. Vincent DePaul Award” for leadership.   Dr. O’Keefe continues to serve as a faculty mentor to numerous Ph.D. candidates.
• January 1, 2014 Dr. O’Keefe was appointed as Vice Provost of the Staten Island Campus.

Publications/Lectures

• He has lectured at the Bill Blackwood Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas and the Illinois Law Enforcement Training & Standards Board - Executive Institute. 
• Over his career, he has published many scholarly articles and books, including Protecting the Republic: TheEducation & Training of American Police Officers, published by Prentice Hall in 2004, and “Counterterrorism Training in the Public Sector,” a chapter in Community Preparedness and Response to Terrorism, published by Praeger in 2005.
• Dr. O’Keefe is frequently called upon to serve as a professional consultant and has testified as an expert witness in federal courts throughout the United States in the areas of law enforcement policies and practices, and is recognized internationally as an expert witness in law enforcement education and training. 

Previously Held Positions at St. John’s University

Dr. James O’Keefe retired from the New York City Police Department in 2001 to accept an appointment as an associate professor of criminal justice leadership with St. John’s University.  During his tenure, he earned appointments as program director of the Criminal Justice Program, program director of the Graduate Program in Criminal Justice Leadership, interim -chairman of the Social Science Division, and served for five years as associate dean for academic affairs & tenured professor of criminal justice leadership.  Dr. O’Keefe went to Rome, Italy to secure an academic articulation agreement with the University of Rome, “Foro Italico” in the undergraduate and graduate Sport Management Program.  He continues to lecture for undergraduate and graduate seminars in police administration, public policy, law enforcement ethics, and leadership.