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Originally from Canada, Dr. Aili Malm grew up in a small fishing village. Her father was a commercial fisherman, and she grew up working on his boat.

Malm moved down to the big city in Vancouver for all her schooling – going from a small town of only about 700 people to 400,000. She obtained her bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees all from Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada. 

Since then, Dr. Malm has jumped to even bigger ponds, working with several police departments across the globe, including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, British Home Office, Danish National Police, and numerous local departments across the United States. For the past 20 years serving as a faculty member in the School of Criminology, Criminal Justice & Emergency Management (CCJEM), Malm says one thing she has learned is that students are having to balance more and more these days.  

“Our students do so much -- they’re balancing work, family obligations, and their personal lives, which often take a backseat to their academic studies,” Dr. Malm said. 

If there was any person perfect enough to take over the monumental task of heading up a School as big as CCJEM as its new Director, it would be Malm, whose life experience is proof of her ability to relate to the struggles students go through. 

“Our students are amazing and balance so much. I was a first-generation college student; my family had been blue collar workers for generations. “I know from experience that if you put your mind to it, and you have a passion for either working in the criminal justice system, or working to change the criminal justice system, we are the program for you.”

Malm says that she sees the passion in her students everyday, and that she herself is inspired by their incredible ability to balance everything that is going on, not only in their individual lives, but in the world. One of her favorite classes to teach as a professor was her policing class. 

“I mean, because, can you pick a topic that is more debate focused?” 

That is why Dr. Malm would love putting on debates in her policing class and seeing the passion and excitement from her students.

Another class Dr. Malm has taught over the years is the intelligence analysis class “for those who would want to work as an analyst rather than a police officer.” 

“I taught our students some of the technology and techniques behind intelligence analysis, but more importantly, how to challenge their cognitive biases, so that they don’t have an assumption about a case they go into.” 

As CCJEM School Director, Malm is excited to have the opportunity herself outside of the classroom to tackle challenges with an open mind, specifically in how to continue to meet the higher demand for online delivery in course offerings. 

“Sometimes it’s just not possible for students to be on campus with everything they have to balance outside of school, so what we’ve done is tried our best to accommodate completely online, asynchronous options, and we offer them through (College of Professional and Continuing Education). Our , Master’s in Emergency Services Administration, and now our are all offered completely online through CPaCE.”

Though Dr. Malm distinguishes between the smaller, self-support programs listed above, she also is focused on meeting the needs of students enrolled in the traditional programs. She acknowledges that offering more online options for courses altogether, even for the stateside programs, is another important consideration, all while continuing to serve students who want the traditional college experience of being on campus in-person. 

“So that is something that I’m looking forward to -- meeting the various needs of our students. [Former Director] Christine [Scott-Hayward] has given me great advice on how to continue moving in the right direction.”

Dr. Malm talks with excitement about taking the CCJEM helm. Perhaps it’s because she knows the students very well and knows what she can bring to the table as School Director. She brings her own unique experience, knowledge, and empathy to her new role. Not a far cry from that girl who worked on her father’s fishing boat, just running a slightly bigger ship now for the ɫ��ɫ School of Criminology, Criminal Justice & Emergency Management.