Walter Niederberger

Pioneer Criminal Justice Educator Passes

Professor Walt Niederberger passed away Sunday, July 3, 2022, of natural causes.
Walt, born in Ely, Nevada in 1932 was 90 years old. He came to Albuquerque in 1960 and had previously worked for the Federal Bureau of Investigation and served in the Air Force during the Korean War. He was teaching at Foothill College in California when the offer came to teach at the College of St. Joseph in Albuquerque. Neither he nor his wife, Bette, who was born in Wyoming, had ever been to the Southwest, and so, they decided to try it for a year or two. It turned into a permanent home for them.

While working for his degrees in Sociology and Criminology at San Jose State University in California, he took note of the first Police Science college program in the United States. Having convinced himself that a collegiate program should offer more than duplicating what police academies were teaching, he established the first Criminal Justice Program in the Southwest at what was then College of St. Joseph, later called the University of Albuquerque. His program attracted the attention of the Department of Justice, and he was able to secure Law Enforcement Education funds to pay for the tuition of Police officers, corrections officers, students interested in going into those and other positions in the Criminal Justice field. Lecturing in the Police Academy during Paul Shavers time of Chief of Police, he established a rapport with the then head of the Academy, soon to become the Deputy Chief Don Daniels. The two of them worked together to develop the first Police Aid program in which students interested in police work would go to college full time and spend summers and free time with the police department until they were old enough to attend the Academy. Later, Niederberger convinced Daniels to move the Police Academy to the College campus.

During his time at The University of Albuquerque he somehow found time to coach the baseball team. He received no pay for the job and had never been a coach, however he did play collegiate and Semi-Pro Baseball. The college had no scholarships to give for baseball, but "Coach" Niederberger was impressed with all the local talent in high schools that was being overlooked. He worked with Buzzy Bavasie of the Dodger Organization to use the Dukes' Tingley Field for home games while the Dukes were out of town or in Spring Training. He managed to pull in teams from the WAC conference and elsewhere who were from the north with less inviting spring climates like the Air Force Academy, Denver and many others. The Saint Joseph's College "Dons" twice won spots in the Regional Finals of the NIAA and one year won the National Statistical Batting Championship. While the majority of his students went on to successful careers in Law Enforcement, Corrections, the legal profession (lawyers, and Judges), a number of former baseball players went on to become coaches, athletic directors and some entered politics. When Professor Niederberger became too busy to continue as an unpaid coach, he was instrumental in the hiring of Vince Cappelli of Valley High school.

He was appointed by Former Governor Bruce King to the Juvenile Parole Board and reappointed by Governor Apodaca where he served for 7 years. His next appointment (by Governor Anaya) was to the Organized Crime Prevention Commission where he served as Vice Chairman and later Chairman.

Niederberger was also Social Science Division Director, Dean of Student Affairs and Dean of the College of Professional Studies and was listed both in "Who's Who in College and University Administration" and "Outstanding Educators of America".

When The University of Albuquerque closed, he was asked by Louis Saavadra (then President of TVI) to start a Criminal Justice program there, when TVI became a Community College. As he had done at U of A with the Police Department, he brought the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Academy to the TVI campus. When he retired from there, he started the Criminal Justice Program at Wayland Baptist University's Albuquerque Campus.

When he finally really retired, he took up Golf (a game he said he really never liked and claimed

he would never play). He played two times a week with about twenty senior citizens at Desert Greens Golf Course who call themselves "the Gaggle". He also belonged to the New Mexico Seniors Golf Association and the Albuquerque Senior Men's Golf Association.

A great believer in combining Community participation with his classroom duties he was very active in various aspects of the City and State. Just a partial list of his Community and Civic positions would include:

Appointed by Governor Jack Campbell to President John F Kennedy's White House Council for the employment of the Handicapped.
Served on the First Charter Revision Committee of the City of Albuquerque to move to a mayoral type government.
Served on U.S. Department of HEW, Rehabilitation study of the Southwest.
Served on Urban Development Council, City of Albuquerque.
Member of Model Cities Core Committee on Crime and Delinquency.
Member, Goals for Albuquerque on Social Concerns.
Member of Governor's Committee on Criminal Justice Planning-Research and Evaluation.
Worked with National Council on Crime and Delinquency to research the effects of City-County Law Enforcement Consolidation.
For the U.S. Department of Justice Developing Profiles and Successes of Electronic Monitoring Device for Parolees in Illinois, Utah and New Mexico
Member of the Executive Committee, Chamber of Commerce Task Force on Crime Prevention.
Member of the Western Regional Corrections Committee on Professional Development.
Member Metropolitan Criminal Justice Coordinating Council.
Member, Governor's Committee on Criminal Justice Goals.
Member, Governor's Advisory Staff on Juvenile Justice.
Member, Board of Directors, Crime Stoppers.
Member, Corrections-Detention Policy Advisory Board, City of Albuquerque.
New Mexico's Liaison to the Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education.
Member Advisory Board, Center for Social Research, UNM.
Chairman, Policy Advisory Board, Institute for Criminal Justice Studies, UNM.
Member, Mayors Steering Committee on Community Oriented Policing.

He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Bette J Norris Niederberger, who was born in Greybull, Wyoming. They met while she was visiting an aunt in Ely. After a stint in the Air Force during the Korean Conflict, Walt married Bette and they moved to the Bay area in California where he continued his education.

He is also survived by Wendy Parsons of Ruidoso, New Mexico and Amy Hopkins of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Three grandchildren: Ryan Parsons of Ruidoso, New Mexico Lindsey Parsons of Ruidoso, New Mexico and Dane Hopkins of Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Walt has been cremated as per his wishes. Private services will be held at Santa Fe National Cemetery, Santa Fe, New Mexico.