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Norval Morris Project

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Photo of Norval MorrisThe Norval Morris Project is dedicated to the memory of Norval Morris, who passed away in 2004. At the time of his death, Dr. Morris was the Julius Kreeger Professor of Law and Criminology Emeritus at the University of Chicago Law School. He was an internationally recognized expert on the criminal justice system and prison reform and was rightly regarded as among the most influential writers in the field of criminal justice, having authored, co-authored, or edited 15 books and hundreds of articles during his remarkable 55-year academic career.

Dr. Morris was also instrumental in creating the National Institute of Corrections and remained a guiding influence as a charter member of its advisory board until the day he passed away. Since it was first established by the NIC Advisory Board, the Norval Morris Project has evolved into an open-ended effort to locate innovative, evidence-based approaches from all fields; evaluate their potential to inform correctional policy and practice; develop and evaluate new strategies for the dissemination and application of this knowledge; and ultimately create opportunities to test these innovations in correctional settings.

The project has sought to continue the spirit of Dr. Morris’ work and his belief that the field must make more effective use of applicable bodies of knowledge, especially empirical research. Over the last six years, the project has created a unique structure to identify, distill, and disseminate knowledge new to the field corrections. At its heart, the Norval Morris Project is about developing and using an “innovation pump” for expediting the transfer into practice of evidence-based innovations. In the process, the project has sought to demonstrate by example how a “Morris Project” would be executed from conception through full implementation of innovative policies and practices in correctional settings.

A hallmark of this approach to problem solving is that the structure is designed to allow issues and solutions to emerge as the process proceeds through a multistage approach (see Project Overview for a more detailed description of the project's structure). As the project has progressed, two topics have been the focus of its ongoing work: Corrections Workforce Transformation and Safely Reducing the Corrections Population by Half.

Anyone who is interested in discussing topics related to the Norval Morris Project and helping to disseminate project information, resources, and products is invited to participate in the Friends of the Norval Morris Project online discussion forum. Project news, information, and resources will also be posted here as they become available.

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