Ramapo College of New Jersey officially launched the Ramapo College Investigative Genetic Genealogy Center (IGG Center) Dec. 1.
The IGG Center – the first of its kind – offers case work, research and hands-on education in this developing field, with a vision to secure justice through the ethical and proficient use of investigative genetic genealogy to support the resolution of cases involving wrongful convictions, unidentified human remains and violent crime.
“The launch of our new IGG Center illustrates how, through forward-thinking and dynamic initiatives, Ramapo serves the public good,” said Cindy Jebb, president of Ramapo College. “This center doubles down on our mission to develop skilled ethical leaders who are civic minded and committed to learning through doing.”
“The launch of our new IGG Center illustrates how, through forward-thinking and dynamic initiatives, Ramapo serves the public good,” said Cindy Jebb, president of Ramapo College. – RAMAPO COLLEGE OF NEW JERSEY
The IGG Lab will be housed in the new Peter P. Mercer Learning Commons. It will include teaching and learning stations, essential database and software subscriptions as well as operational support to enable the center to take on at least five cases per year, while also supporting the center’s efforts to increase research and scholarship in the field.
The program is being led by two prominent leaders in the field – Cairenn Binder and David Gurney.
Binder is the director of the Investigative Genetic Genealogy Certificate Program at Ramapo College and is a founding partner of Coast-to-Coast Genetic Genealogy Services and also director of education and development for the DNA Doe Project. She has used IGG to provide investigative leads in a number of high-profile cases, including the identification of John Wayne Gacy, Gary Ridgeway (the Green River Killer) and Keith Jesperson (the Happy Face Killer). Gurney is an assistant professor of Law and Society at Ramapo College and was previously a fellow with the Wrongful Conviction Clinic at the University of Arizona.
“Since 2018, investigative genetic genealogy has emerged as an essential tool in securing justice,” said Gurney. “Over 500 cases have been resolved with the help of IGG. With the new center – the first of its kind – Ramapo will be at the forefront of ensuring that IGG is practiced proficiently and ethically, while also expanding the reach of IGG in exonerating the wrongfully convicted.”
Ramapo College’s IGG Center is being led by two prominent leaders in the field – David Gurney and Cairenn Binder. – RAMAPO COLLEGE OF NEW JERSEY
Jebb said with two premier leaders at the helm of this project in this emerging field, the work furthers Ramapo’s public purpose, incorporates the liberal arts, develops talented problem solvers and attracts recognition.
“Thanks to the generous commitment of the College’s longtime supporters and leaders, Susan and Nick Vallario, the IGG Lab positions Ramapo to be the first lab of its kind by focusing exclusively on IGG and providing case work and research in addition to education,” said Jebb.
“We are grateful for the faith that our partners are putting in the center and our students,” said Binder. “The opportunity that they will present through the cases referred to us will not only provide valuable practical experience to the students, but will demonstrate to them and to the public that the search for closure and justice is within our reach more than ever before.”
Ramapo says the IGG Center will also focus on research and expansion of investigative genetic genealogy, particularly in engagement with the ongoing discussion about its practical and ethical boundaries, and in seeking to expand the reach of IGG to bring justice to underrepresented populations.
In 2023, the Ramapo IGG Center will also host the world’s first professional conference dedicated exclusively to IGG.
The first class of students in the center’s IGG Certificate Program will enroll in the spring of 2023.
More information can be found here.
