Thomas J. Hickey is the Dean of the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences and a Professor of Government at the State University of New York (SUNY Cobleskill). He received his bachelors degree from Providence College, M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Sam Houston State University, and a law degree from the University of Oregon, School of Law. His areas of expertise include criminology and law and he is the author of two books, Criminal Procedure (McGraw-Hill, Inc., 2001, 1998) and Taking Sides: Clashing Views in Criminal Justice (McGraw-Hill, 2007) as well as many journal articles. He is a licensed attorney as well who specializes in the areas of labor law and tort litigation.