MUNCIE, Ind. -- A Ball State University criminal justice and criminology professor who prepares his students for the rigorous demands of corrections has been presented with the Distinguished Service Award by the Indiana Correctional Association.

"This is the top honor that an academic person can win," said J. Steven Smith. "It says to me that we are doing things right here at Ball State."

The ICA selected Smith for his leadership in education, criminal justice, juvenile justice and correction. He has been a member of the ICA since 1985, serving as director at-large for education, program chair in 1987, conference chair in 1988, vice president in 1989 and president in 1990.

"He is a demanding professor who turns out well-rounded students, prepared for employment in a challenging and constantly changing field," said Robert Ohlemiller, deputy commissioner for programs for the Indiana Department of Correction. "Outside the college classroom, he has proven to be a successful trainer of both professionals and volunteers."

"He strikes a balance between academic and the real world,' and his involvement in both has proven beneficial for students, his university, and the professional fields and organizations he has touched," he said.

Two of Smith's former students also received major awards from the ICA: Marci Burch, a 1989 Ball State graduate who works for the Wells County Probation Department, was named the Juvenile Probation Officer of the Year; and Christopher Spangler, who graduated from Lawrence Central High School in 1989 and has attended Ball State, was named the Correctional Officer of the Year. He is a corrections officer at the Plainfield Correctional Facility.

Also, Harley R. Allen, a 1977 Ball State graduate and community supervisor for the Madison County Adult Probation Department, won the Adult Probation Officer of the Year Award.

Smith said the awards were important because they demonstrate how Ball State is producing top notch graduates who become highly prized professionals.

"You don't get into teaching for the money, but for the love of teaching," Smith said. "When my former students win awards such as these, it is a validation of all the work that goes on here to prepare them for the field.

"I also think it says that Ball State does place an emphasis on having good teachers in the classroom," he said. "That is why our students are successful in almost every field they enter."

Smith joined the Ball State faculty in 1985. He received his bachelor's degree from Ottawa University in 1980, master's degree from North Arizona University in 1982 and a doctorate from Oklahoma State University in 1985.