DBU Welcomes New Director of the William B. Dean, M.D. Institute of Criminal Justice Leadership

Serving in the Air Force, teaching at universities, and sharing the Gospel with inmates, Dr. John Fisher has seen God move throughout his life and in the lives of those he has encountered. In this next season, Dr. Fisher returns to one of his passions, education, as he joins Dallas Baptist University as the new Director of the William B. Dean, M.D. Institute of Criminal Justice Leadership.

Born in Pearl Harbor to a military family, Dr. Fisher and his three siblings were raised across the country and taught about Christ from a young age. As a teenager, he became involved with Christians in Action, and through early ministry opportunities, he began to fully trust the Lord and His plans for his life.

Starting out as a grocery bagger where his father was stationed, Dr. Fisher eventually began his career with the U.S. Air Force, where he served for eight years before finishing his time in the military as part of the 655th Special Operations Maintenance Squadron, 1st Special Operations Wing.

Dr. Fisher then attended Angelo State University, where he earned dual Bachelor of Arts degrees in History and Government. Dr. Fisher soon became a correctional officer for a private prison company, Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), now known as CoreCivic. Later, he would receive his M.S. in Criminal Justice and M.A. in Public Administration from Sul Ross State University, later being promoted to Chief Probation Officer at CCA.

While attending Sul Ross, Dr. Fisher realized his passion for teaching. Taking on the role of Director of the Criminal Justice Program at Howard Junior College, he soon recognized a need for the college to offer a four-year Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences degree. Motivated by this need, Dr. Fisher went on to earn his Ph.D. in Human Services with concentrations in criminal justice and inmate rehabilitation and treatment.

Over the course of his career, Dr. Fisher served in a variety of criminal justice and human services roles, including probation, child advocacy, corrections, and prison chaplaincy.

In each opportunity Dr. Fisher was given, he continued to see God working in the lives of those around him. "I saw the prison come alive in faith," he shares about his role as Chaplain at Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ). Dr. Fisher saw the church attendance in the prison increase each month, the medium-security inmates requesting religious programming, and after a 15-month period, he saw 15% of the inmate population being baptized and rededicating their lives in service to Christ.

Throughout the years Dr. Fisher spent working in criminal justice and human services, he never lost his passion for education. Alongside the positions he held, Dr. Fisher taught at Howard College, the University of Arizona Global Campus (previously named Ashford University), Western New Mexico University, the University of Texas Permian Basin, and the University of Arkansas Fort Smith.

In his most recent role as Chaplain, Dr. Fisher had come to terms with the fact that he would not return to teaching, believing he was where God wanted him, serving with the TDCJ. However, after receiving an email encouraging him to apply for a position at DBU—followed by prayer and further encouragement—Dr. Fisher pursued this new opportunity.

Now, Dr. Fisher joins the DBU Family as Director of the William B. Dean, M.D. Institute of Criminal Justice Leadership, and as a professor. "It is the hope of the Institute that we become a major training facility for the criminal justice community," Dr. Fisher shares.

As Dr. Fisher moves to the DFW area, he and his wife, Sonia, continue to stay active in ministry and family life. Married for 41 years, the couple has four children and nine grandchildren. Dr. Fisher also continues his prison ministry work, volunteering with the TDCJ and Kairos Prison Ministry.

"The entire purpose of Jesus' sacrifice was to reconcile us with Him," Dr. Fisher states. "As we take care of the poor, the widow, the orphan, and the sick in the hospital, let us not forget the inmate." As he looks at the lives God has changed throughout his career, Dr. Fisher hopes to raise up the next generation of criminal justice students with a Christ-centered mindset as he takes on this new role.