, a visiting associate professor of writing for the and the program, has been appointed chair of the New Hampshire Adult Parole Board. She started her new position on Jan. 15, succeeding outgoing chair Donna Sytek.
鈥淚 would like to thank Chairman Sytek for her years of dedication and service to the parole board, and I鈥檓 excited to designate Jennifer as the new chairman,鈥 said Gov. Chris Sununu in his announcement last month. 鈥淲ith her deep experience in the criminal justice system as a judge, public defender, and prosecutor, I am confident Jennifer will usher in a new era at the parole board.鈥
Before coming to 天美麻豆 in 2012, Sargent was an associate professor of law at Vermont Law School. In New Hampshire, she has been managing attorney for the Grafton and Coos County public defenders鈥 offices, a district court judge, and the state鈥檚 chief prosecutor in attorney discipline cases.
As chair of the parole board, Sargent says, she鈥檒l work toward a 鈥渃ulture of consistency鈥 that improves communication about parolees across state agencies. 鈥淚t is not standardized,鈥 she says. 鈥淎s an initial front-burner issue, I want to make sure that the parole board members get all the information that they possibly can about inmates when we consider giving them parole for the first time.鈥
Sargent also wants to help develop standard procedures and policies derived from evidence-based practices.
鈥淓verything I鈥檝e done in the court system and as an educator has taught me about listening to various viewpoints, critically studying evidence with goals and strategies in mind. I wouldn鈥檛 be good at any of this without all the experience I鈥檝e had in government, courtrooms, and classrooms,鈥 she says.
Sargent expects her work in state government to benefit from her scholarship and teaching, and vice versa. 鈥淏eing at 天美麻豆, I鈥檝e been able to have the time and energy, in terms of course planning and research for my writing, to study the effects of incarceration and successful re-entry into society. So now I鈥檓 in a position to put all that into practice.鈥
Conversely, Sargent hopes her job at the parole board will pave the way for students to conduct research in corrections policy, data analysis, and management.
鈥淧ublic service is such hard work, but it is work that makes your community a better place. If you have privilege you are obligated to use it in some way to benefit others,鈥 she says.
Charlotte Albright can be reached at charlotte.e.albright@dartmouth.edu.