RESEARCH AND SCHOLARSHIP
Our department has nationally and internationally recognized scholars whose research addresses critical questions about society and the criminal justice system and has significant academic and policy impacts.
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FACULTY SCHOLARSHIP
Allison Ann Payne, PhD, published the article 鈥�鈥� in The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science.
Rick Eckstein, PhD, along with several co-authors, published the article "" in the听Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics.
Guillermo Jes煤s 贰蝉肠补帽辞, PhD, along with David McDowall, PhD, and William Alex Pridemore, PhD, published the article 鈥溾�� in The British Journal of Criminology.
Heidi Grundetjern, PhD, with coauthor Kurt Fowler, published the article 鈥溾�� in Criminology.
Max Osborn, PhD, published the article 鈥溾�� in Punishment & Society.听
Lorena 脕惫颈濒补, PhD,听focuses on the role of law and legal bureaucracies in propelling inequalities through the immigration system. Her research aims to give visibility to the experiences, resources, and challenges of migrant families and migrant鈥檚 rights advocacy networks navigating inequality and racialization propelled by bureaucratic structures in place.
Meredith Bergey, PhD,听is working on a paper with Thomas Mackie, PhD, Giuseppina Chiri, PhD, and Nikki Freeman, PhD, that examines intersecting social identities and health inequalities.听听
Glenn Bracey鈥檚, PhD, scholarship examines the intersection of race, social movements, and religion. Drawing on research conducted through the Race, Religion, and Justice Project (rrjp.org), Bracey鈥檚 current work explores whiteness as a religion and the implications of the religion of whiteness for Christians of color.听
Rick Eckstein, PhD,听is currently exploring the social class bias in non-revenue intercollegiate sports. He recently听appeared on the September episode of where he discusses special admissions for college athletes.
Guillermo Jes煤s Esca帽o听(he/him), conducts research focusing on crime and violence in Latin America and the Caribbean, organized criminal groups, the structural and cultural causes and consequences of violence, and criminal justice policy (evidence-based practices). He is a quantitative researcher, mainly using panel and time series models.听
Heidi Grundetjern, PhD,听is currently conducting research focused on women's drug use utilizing a trauma-informed psychosocial perspective.
Lance Hannon, PhD,听is currently working on a variety of sociological and criminological research projects utilizing digital text analysis tools.听 听
Melissa Hodges, PhD,听is currently working on a project that examines the relationship between the structural arrangements of care systems and variation in the distribution of economic inequality across gender, race, and class cross-nationally.
Brian J. Jones, PhD,听is writing a book for Palgrave Macmillan entitled The Pursuit of Happiness in America.
Rory Kramer, PhD,听is听finishing work on a book manuscript about diversity within the Black student body at selective colleges and universities with colleagues at Penn and Princeton. He is also working on a related paper on the impact of racial disparities in exposure to stressful events on college completion rates.
Jill MCCorkel, PhD,听was granted a two-year research fellowship with the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office. Her project investigates the influence of prosecutorial discretion on increases in the number of women serving life and virtual life sentences.听
Max Osborn, PhD, is examining how LGBTQIA+ people navigate risk, safety, and gender presentation during encounters with institutional actors such as police and service providers. He is also studying representations of transgender victims of violence in the news media.
Allison Ann Payne, PhD,听is collaborating with our department鈥檚 research associate, Denise Wilson, on a multilevel study examining the influence of school-related risk and protective factors on traditional and cyberbullying.听听听
Brianna Remster, PhD,听and听Melissa Hodges, PhD,听are investigating the incarceration-wage penalty for women compared to men.
Ken Sun, PhD,听is currently working on two manuscripts, including a single-authored book on aging and migration, and the other on transnational social protection (with Professors Peggy Levitt, Erica Dobb, and Ruxandra Paul).
Kelly Welch, PhD,听is editing the Research Handbook on Race, Crime, and Justice. The handbook is under contract with Edward Elgar Publishing.
Emerson, Michael and Glenn Bracey. (2024).听.听Oxford University Press.
Jones, Brian. (2024).听.听Palgrave Macmillan.
Levitt, Peggy,听 Erica Dobbs, Ken Chih-Yan Sun, and Ruxandra Paul. (2023).听. Oxford University Press.
Charles, Camille Z., Massey, Douglas S., Torres, Kimberly C., & Kramer, Rory. (2022).听. Princeton University Press.
Sun, Ken Chih-Yan. (2021).听.听Cornell University Press.
Jones, Brian. (2019).听.听Palgrave Macmillan.
Bergey, Meredith R., Angela M. Filipe, Peter Conrad, and Ilina Singh (Eds.) (2018). .听Johns Hopkins University Press.
脕惫颈濒补, Lorena and Sarah Tosh. (2024). . Critical Criminology.
脕惫颈濒补, Lorena and David Iba帽ez. (2023). . American Behavioral Scientist.
Rengifo, Andres F., Lorena 脕惫颈濒补, and David Iba帽ez. (2023). . Crime, Law and Social Change.
Bergey, Meredith. (2024). . Sociology Compass.
Bergey, Meredith. (2024). Journal of Health and Social Behavior.
Corr, Chris, Christopher Atwater, Mark S. Nagel, Richard Southall, Rick Eckstein, and Marek Ta拧k谩r. (2025). Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics.
贰蝉肠补帽辞, Guillermo Jes煤s, David McDowall, and William Pridemore. (2025). . The British Journal of Criminology.
贰蝉肠补帽辞, Guillermo Jes煤s and William Alex Pridemore. (2024). . The British Journal of Criminology.
贰蝉肠补帽辞, Guillermo Jes煤s. (2024). . In K. Burgason & M. DeLisi. (Eds.), Routledge Handbook of Homicide Studies (pp. 41-64). Routledge.
贰蝉肠补帽辞, Guillermo Jes煤s. (2023). . Justice Quarterly.
Fowler, Kurt W. and Heidi Grundetjern. (2025). Criminology.
Grundetjern, Heidi and David Gadd. (2025). . Feminist Criminology.
Hannon, Lance, Lindsay Redditt, and Brooke Cordes. (2024). . Agenda for Social Justice 3 Solutions for 2024.
Hannon, Lance and Meredith Bergey. (2024). . Research Evaluation.
Kramer, Rory, Victor Ray, and Eduardo Bonilla-Silva. (2025). . Social Problems.
McCorkel, Jill, Paisley Hahn, and Isabella Balian. (2024). Graterfriends.
Osborn, Max. (2025). . Punishment & Society.
Moore, B., Max Osborn, and C. DeJong. (2025). . Journal of Criminal Justice Education.
Osborn, Max, Tanyanne Ball, and Valli Rajah. (2024). Trauma, Violence, & Abuse
Osborn, Max. (2023). Critical Criminology.
DeJong, Christina, Max Osborn, and Harnoor Kaur. (2023). In A. E. Goldberg, D. C. Slakoff, and C. L. Buist (Eds.), The (Mis) Representation of Queer Lives in True Crime (pp. 160-182).
Osborn, Max. (2023). In A. E. Goldberg, D. C. Slakoff, and C. L. Buist (Eds.), The (Mis) Representation of Queer Lives in True Crime (pp. 183-201).
Payne, Allison Ann. (2024). The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science.
Payne, Allison Ann. (2024). . In B. Welsh, S. Zane, and D. Mears (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Evidence-Based Crime and Justice Policy.
Payne, Allison Ann and Kelly Welch. (2023). . Crime & Delinquency.
Sun, Ken Chih-Yan and Lijun Lin. (2025). . Social Forces.
Sun, Ken Chih-Yan and Baiyu Su. (2023). International Migration Review.
Sun, Ken Chih-Yan and Nicole Newendorp. (2023). The Journals of Gerontology: Series B.
Welch, Kelly and Allison Ann Payne (2025). . In A. Eizadirad and P. P. Trifonas (Eds.), Handbook of Anti-Discriminatory Education.
STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
Rita Sogoti 鈥�26 CLAS
In the summer of 2025, I had an incredible opportunity to intern in Dublin, Ireland, through the Frederick Douglass Daniel O鈥機onnell Global Internship program. This eight-week program was organized by the Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE) in partnership with the Government of Ireland and the African American Irish Diaspora Network. The program honors the legacies of two great social justice leaders, Frederick Douglass and Daniel O鈥機onnell, and aims to connect young leaders with meaningful international work experiences.
This was my first time studying abroad, and it was truly a dream come true. I had always desired to study and work in another country. I was placed at Abbey Law Solicitors, a law firm located in Dublin City Centre. Abbey Law specializes in human rights and immigration law. The firm also handles a variety of legal areas, including judicial review, family law, criminal law, and personal injuries. I served as a Legal Intern, where I had the chance to gain real-world experience and build practical skills in a professional setting.
Throughout the internship, one of my key responsibilities was preparing and reviewing the Book of Pleadings before submitting it to the High Court. I personally worked with five to ten clients each week on various legal matters, which included assisting with family reunification applications, citizenship cases, visa applications, and helping clients prepare for their affidavits. I accompanied clients to the International Protection Office (IPO) to get registered, often supporting them through the process with my solicitor's supervision. I regularly attended legal proceedings and handled most of the call-overs and mentions. Witnessing the Irish proceedings gave me a new lens on how other countries pursue justice.
A particularly meaningful part of my experience at Abbey Law was working with clients from many different countries and cultural backgrounds. I had the privilege of helping individuals and families from Somalia, Afghanistan, Kenya, South Africa, China, Nigeria, and other parts of the world. This exposure not only expanded my global perspective but also deepened my understanding of how the legal system must adapt to meet the special needs of diverse populations.
The experience gave me a deeper understanding of Irish and European immigration and refugee law, as well as the human rights challenges faced by vulnerable communities. I witnessed the challenges people face in trying to receive justice, and it was rewarding to contribute to making a permanent change in their legal needs. My work was both empowering and eye-opening, and it confirmed my interest in pursuing a career in law focused on justice.
Living and working in Ireland also gave me a chance to experience Irish culture. I enjoyed exploring the country, learning about its history, and connecting with people from all over the world. Everyone I met was friendly and welcoming, which made it easier to immerse myself in Irish culture.
This incredible opportunity would not have been possible without the support of several important organizations and Individuals. I would like to sincerely thank the CIEE, the Office of Education Abroad (OEA), the Center for Access, Success, and Achievement (CASA) and 草榴社区. Their guidance and support made this internship a reality, and I am deeply grateful.
My transformative experience gave me the chance to grow, not only personally, but professionally. I am grateful that I was able to come out of my comfort zone through my unique exposure.
Thereasa Whyte 鈥�26 CLAS
During my junior year at 草榴社区, I chose to write my political science research seminar paper on the impacts of crime-based political messaging on voter decision-making. Under the guidance of Dr. Dixon, I explored how political campaigns use fear-based narratives about crime to shape voter priorities, candidate favorability, and trust in institutions. My research included a survey experiment design where participants would be randomly assigned to view either a crime-focused ad or a non-crime ad, with pre- and post-surveys capturing shifts in perception and voting intention. The project drew heavily on theories of agenda-setting, racial priming, and emotional appeals, while also identifying gaps in the literature concerning social media and demographic differences.
The paper examined how 鈥渢ough on crime鈥� rhetoric distorts the democratic process by pushing voters toward punitive policies while obscuring deeper social causes of crime. I found this research particularly meaningful because of my broader academic interests in criminology and political science, as well as my own lived experiences seeing how fear-based narratives disproportionately affect marginalized communities. My criminology coursework, especially classes like Justice & Society as well as The Sociology of Race & Racism, gave me the foundation to critically analyze how political rhetoric interacts with structural inequalities.
Being named a runner-up for the St. Catherine of Siena Undergraduate Peace and Justice Research Award for this paper, affirmed the significance of my work and its contribution to understanding how rhetoric can either promote justice or reinforce inequality. Beyond the recognition, the project strengthened my ability to design research, synthesize theoretical perspectives, and connect abstract academic debates to real-world political challenges.
I fully believe that pursuing criminology and political science at 草榴社区 has prepared me to apply research to pressing social issues. For example, my internship with the Pennsylvania House of Representatives allowed me to see firsthand how crime rhetoric shapes legislative priorities, reinforcing the themes of my paper. Additionally, my involvement in the Philadelphia Justice Project: 草榴社区 Chapter has deepened my passion for addressing how policy, rhetoric, and justice intersect.
This project not only pushed me as a researcher but also solidified my long-term goal of attending law school and working in policy to ensure that political narratives do not distort justice but instead serve communities equitably. I am deeply grateful to Dr. Dixon and the 草榴社区 faculty whose mentorship has shaped me as both a scholar and an advocate.