Dr. Wade, a native of eastern Iowa, came to Southeast as Chair in 1997.  Prior to his appointment he served as Assistant Chair and Acting Chair at Western Illinois University, one of the nation’s largest criminal justice programs.  Dr. Wade earned a B.S. in Law Enforcement and an M.S. in Criminal Justice from Central Missouri State University and holds a doctorate in Sociology/Criminology from Kansas State.  The fall marks his 28^th year of college teaching.

He has taught a variety of undergraduate courses including Intro to Criminal Justice, Police Administration, Juvenile Justice, Organized Crime, Statistics and Research Methods.  At the graduate level, Dr. Wade has taught courses in theory, research, statistics, management and has chaired or served on approximately 100 theses. 

Professionally, Dr. Wade’s Introduction to Criminal Justice text is in its 4^th printing, he has published in several journals, has presented papers regionally, nationally and internationally and recently, along with Linda Ferrell, developed a highly touted meth education program for the Midwest High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA).  Wade is a certified trainer for the Illinois Police Training and Standards Board, served as a member of the Illinois Crime Stoppers Board and currently is a member of the executive board for Southeast Missouri Weed and Seed. 

Wade and his wife, Joyce Becker, are avid Southeast fans.  They, and their two dogs, live on 13 acres outside of Jackson.