Profile

I joined UCF in 1994 as a graduate of Florida State University's doctoral program in Criminology. I am an associate professor in the Department of Criminal Justice. Both my teaching and research are focused on various aspects of adult punishment and social control in the U.S. Secondary teaching and research interests include victim services, judicial decision-making in protection order hearings, and guns, crime, and American culture.

• Offender Reentry/Collateral Sanctions
• History of Punishment
• Privatization of Punishment
• Victims Services/Civil Protection Order Hearings

Ph.D. in Criminology, Florida State University
M.S. in Criminology, Florida State University
B.S. in Criminology, Florida State University

My research has consistently focused on punishment in America, through the multiple lenses of history, theory, ethics, and empiricism. My research has encompassed studies of the history of penal reform from the 17th century to the present; the legal and philosophical meaning of the concept of punishment, and the implications of privatization in the correctional system. My applied research has concentrated on the operations and outcomes of intermediate punishment and offender reentry, as well as an empirical critique of the "what works" framework in the evaluation of punishment. Current research follows previous work on occupation-based collateral sanctions and offender attitudes and resilience in the realm of employment.

• CJC 3010 Corrections & Penology
• CJC 5020 Foundations of Corrections
• CCJ 3667 Victims & the Criminal Justice System
• CCJ 4633 Guns, Crime & American Culture