Allen Layne, a decorated trooper with the Kentucky State Police for 25 years, will take on the task of directing the criminal justice program at Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College.
Achieving the rank of sergeant, Layne, a resident of Cumberland, retired from the KSP recently and will begin his job at SKCTC at the onset of the spring semester.
The classroom setting is familiar with Layne as he has worked as an adjunct faculty member for the college over the past 15 years.
Upon his retirement from the state agency, he noted how “excited” he is about the new position as he works to prepare students for careers in the criminal justice field.
“I have always enjoyed teaching,” he said. “There is something very exhilarating about being in the classroom and interacting with students, teaching them the subject material that I love. “
Over his years as an adjunct faculty at Southeast, teaching several classes each term, he has helped mold the lives of many who have since gone on to careers in law enforcement, including the FBI, Kentucky State Police, various sheriff’s departments across the region, the U.S. Border Patrol and the ATF Bureau.
In his job at Southeast, Layne, who came to the area in 1976, will build the program to emphasize police patrol operations as well as offering course work in the supervision of police personnel and more.
“However, the primary goal will be to administer and develop a local program that is of interest to students, lending guidance in order for them to move into a four-year program as offered by Eastern Kentucky University and possibly, soon to be offered by the University of Pikeville,” he said.
Layne began his higher education at SKCTC following graduation from Cumberland High School. He credits Dr. W. Bruce Ayers, the current SKCTC president, who, at the time of Layne’s enrollment at the college, was a faculty member and adviser.
“Dr. Ayers knew how much I wanted to become a policeman. He directed me down that path — guiding me toward an associate’s degree at Southeast and then helping prepare me for my transfer to Eastern for the bachelor’s degree.”
Currently, Layne is working on a master’s degree in the discipline.
He is the son of a Methodist minister, the late Harold K. Layne. His mother is Judy Layne, a former college employee, who now resides in Tennessee.
Layne and his wife, Lisa, have been married for 23 years and are the parents of daughters Ally, a student at Southeast, and Sydney, a student at Cumberland Elementary School.
As the Southeast Criminal Justice Program moves forward in the millennium, it will rely heavily on course work in areas of police patrol and supervision. And, as a certified Kentucky Law Enforcement Counsel instructor, Layne will be positioned to take an active role in the re-training of local officers, which is mandatory for those working within the field.
The program Layne directs at SKCTC is constructed to lead students to an associate in applied science in areas of corrections, law enforcement, criminal justice and security loss prevention.
“One of my main goals is to get out and recruit students who are keenly interested in law enforcement,” he said. “I want to be able to speak with them, to meet them and tell them all about the criminal justice program at Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College.”
He also touted the merits of having employment within the field.
“A career in law enforcement provides one with a well-paying job, and it also has very good retirement benefits,” he said. “It also gives one a sense of giving back to one’s community, while at the same time helping provide a safer place in which to live and work, to enjoy life.”
Beginning with the spring 2013 semester, he said a total of six classes will be offered on the Cumberland campus, with five classes each slated to be taught at the Whitesburg and Middlesboro sites, and with two classes to be offered at the Harlan campus.
The classes, he said, are to be taught by him and a team of well-qualified adjunct faculty that includes lawyers, police officers and corrections officers.
He noted enrollment for the spring semester is Jan. 7-11. He can be reached by phoning 606-273-1334 or at klayne0003@kctcs.edu.
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