University of St. Thomas adjunct professor in Criminology, Law and Society, Michael Barton was appointed to the Family and Protective Services Council by Texas Governor Greg Abbott. The council is charged with studying and making recommendations to the commissioner regarding the management and operation of the Department of Family and Protective Services.
“There is such a need in our society for help, especially for kids,” Barton said. “It’s important that government agencies have these councils that they report to. It’s an opportunity to hold their feet to the fire and make sure goals and objectives are completed.”
Barton has an extensive history of service in the criminal justice system before joining UST as an adjunct faculty member, serving as a Detective for the Houston Police Department, and working for the U.S. Senate, The White House and the Pentagon before founding Hyatt Solutions llc, a consulting company focused on security. Additionally, he has served on the Texas Commission on Lawyer Discipline since his appointment by the Supreme Court of Texas in 2023. It was through connections made during his tenure here that led to his recommendation and application for the Family and Protective Services Council.
“There was a need for someone who knew a little bit about the criminal justice world to serve on the council,” Barton said. ”The person in the Appointments Office of the Governor was aware of me because of some other projects I had worked on. All of those things came together, and I was put on a candidate list before they reached out and asked me if I was interested.”
It is this background and wealth of experience that he brings to students in his classroom as he teaches on a wide array of topics – ranging from criminal justice and terrorism, weapons of mass destruction and the legal aspects of criminal justice.
“My mission here as an adjunct is to bring the real world into the classroom setting, so all [students] see a little bit of reality,” Barton said. “It’s like this in a lot of professions, but the difference between theory and the applied reality is stark, and the sooner they realize this, it shifts the mindset a lot in the way they learn and the way they start to apply things.” To learn more about the Criminology, Law and Society degree plan, contact Dr. Michael Kane, Department Chair, kanemf@stthom.edu.