Message from the Chair Dean Dabney

  • Welcome to the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice!

    We are a growing and vibrant department housing academic programs and scholars from two academic disciplines: Sociology and Criminal Justice. While distinct, we strive to lean into the many areas of substantive and intellectual overlap more than tease apart the two disciplines. We challenge and inspire all our students to think critically about the world around them and see the value in using sound ideas, well-crafted research, and mutually beneficial partnerships to improve tackle complex social problems. We believe firmly that those who stand still are losing ground and thus seek an action-oriented approach to learning, career development, knowledge generation. and evidence-based practices. All of our programs are rigorous and offered in face-to-face, hybrid, and fully online modalities to accommodate the needs of our diverse community of learners.

    Our Bachelor of Science program in Sociology prepares students to understand and deal with modernization and social change ranging from the local to global scale. Students engage complex social problems with major concentrations in General Sociology, Medical Sociology, Criminology, and Culture and Social Change.

    Our Bachelor of Science program in Criminal Justice offers students a deeper understanding of crime and society’s response to crime through coursework focused on the social institution of the law, as well as the component parts of the criminal justice system: police, courts, corrections, and juvenile justice. We stress the utility of evidence-based practices and partnerships as a way to operationalize and enhance justice outcomes.

    Our Minors include Criminal Justice, Criminology, Gerontology, Medical Sociology, and Sociology.

    We also offer a Master of Science in Criminal Justice that is designed to both build the practical leadership and operational competencies of in-service criminal justice professionals who seek to advance upward in their organizations and traditional students who seek to enhance their scholarly capacities to pursue research oriented outcomes.

    The department also contributed to an interdisciplinary Master of Science in Cybersecurity and offer a Certificate in Workplace Interpersonal Relationships. Both of these programs aim to produce career-ready professionals who can hit the ground running in their respective fields.

    Our faculty members are outstanding with demonstrated excellence in teaching, research and professional service. We are committed to student success, community partnerships, and the improvement of society. Please consider Sociology and Criminal Justice when you register for classes. Feel free to reach out to us if you would like to learn more.

    Dr. Dean Dabney

    Chair and Professor, Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice

Faculty & Staff

Listed below are the current faculty and staff for the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice at Kennesaw State University.

Administration

Name
Position

  • Dr. Dean Dabney

    Chair of the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice and Professor of Sociology and Criminal Justice

    ddabney4@kennesaw.edu

    Areas of Expertise: Policing, Organizational Misconduct, Qualitative Methods

    Dean Dabney Curriculum Vitae

  • Dr. Richard Stringer

    Assistant Chair of the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice and Associate Professor of Criminal Justice

    rstring7@kennesaw.edu
    (470) 578-6739
    Kennesaw Campus, 402 Social Sciences Bldg, Room 4051A

    Areas of expertise: Drug and alcohol policy,policing, advanced quantitative methods

    Faculty web page

    Richard Stringer Curriculum Vitae

  • Dr. Shelley Keith

    Professor of Criminal Justice

    skeith19@kennesaw.edu
    (470) 578-6739
    Kennesaw Campus, 402 Social Sciences Bldg, Room 4065

    Director of Masters in Criminal Justice

    Areas of expertise: Criminological theory, identity, emotions, restorative justice, bullying, inequality and crime

    Shelley Keith Curriculum Vitae

  • Gail Markle Sociology Program Coordinator, Professor of Sociology

    Professor of Sociology

    gmarkle@kennesaw.edu
    (470) 578-2477
    Kennesaw Campus, 402 Social Sciences Bldg, Room 4071

    Coordinator of Sociology

    Areas of expertise: Environmental sociology, Social inequality, Intersections of race, class, and gender

    Faculty web page

    Gail Markle Curriculum Vitae

  • Beverly Reece Churchwell Criminal Justice Program Coordinator, Associate Professor of Criminal Justice

    Coordinator of Criminal Justice and Associate Professor of Criminal Justice

    breece11@kennesaw.edu
    (470) 578-6739
    Kennesaw Campus, 402 Social Sciences Bldg, Room 4066

    Areas of expertise: Life-course criminology, desistance from crime, barriers to reentry, corrections, juvenile delinquency

    Faculty web page

    Beverly Reece Churchwell Curriculum Vitae

  • Academic Program Support Specialist

    ssherid2@kennesaw.edu
    (470) 578-6739
    Kennesaw Campus, 402 Social Sciences Bldg, Room 4056

  • Adeline Fauth

    Office Manager

    afauth@kennesaw.edu
    (470) 578-6739
    Kennesaw Campus, 402 Social Sciences Bldg, Room 4055

Full-time Faculty

Name
Position

  • Judy Allen Senior Lecturer of Sociology, Internship Coordinator, Sociology

    Principal Lecturer of Sociology

    jallen12@kennesaw.edu
    (470) 578-2070
    Kennesaw Campus, 402 Social Sciences Bldg, Room 4068

    Areas of expertise: Minority student retention, Social inequality, Social Isolation of Minorities in Upscale Communities, Relationship Profiles, Adopt a Senior Bridge Building

  • Jesse Benjamin Professor of Sociology and International Conflict Management

    Professor of Sociology and International Conflict Management

    jbenjam2@kennesaw.edu
    (470) 578-2067
    Kennesaw Campus, 402 Social Sciences Bldg, Room 3003B

    Areas of expertise: Pan-Africanism, decolonial theory, history of race, whiteness studies, epistemology, development

  • Mindy Bernhardt Lecturer of Criminal Justice

    Lecturer of Criminal Justice

    mbernha2@kennesaw.edu
    (470) 578-6739
    Kennesaw Campus, 402 Social Sciences Bldg, Room 5006

    Areas of expertise: Offender Decision Making, Criminological Theory, Offender Relationships, Violent Behavior, Policing Technology, and Program & Process Evaluation

    Mindy Berhnardt Curriculum Vitae

  • Sinyong Choi Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice

    Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice

    schoi35@kennesaw.edu
    (470) 578-6739
    Kennesaw Campus, 375 Pilcher Public Service Bldg, Room 232

    Areas of interest: Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Ethical hacking, Digital forensic, Illegal online gambling, Quantitative analysis, Cryptocurrency crime

    Sinyong Choi Curriculum Vitae

  • Barbara Harris Combs

    Professor of Criminal Justice and Sociology

    bcombs2@kennesaw.edu
    (470) 578-4384
    Kennesaw Campus, 402 Social Sciences Bldg, Room 4055

    Areas of expertise: Race and urban studies, theorizing anti-blackness and spatial exclusion, comparative historical and interdisciplinary methods to study civil rights history and legal jurisprudence, and social movements and civic engagement

    Barbara Combs Curriculum Vitae

  • Joel Crombez Assistant Professor of Sociology

    Associate Professor of Sociology

    jcrombez@kennesaw.edu
    (470) 578-6739
    Kennesaw Campus, 402 Social Sciences Bldg, Room 4076

    Areas of expertise: critical, social, and sociological theory, political economy, mental health, technology

    Joel Crombez Curriculum VItae

  • Dr. Sara Evans

    Associate Professor of Criminal Justice

    sevan120@kennesaw.edu
    (470) 578-6739
    Kennesaw Campus, 402 Social Sciences Bldg, Room 4067

    Areas of expertise: Neighborhoods and crime, public space, delinquency, scholarship of teaching and learning, high-impact practices

    Sara Evans Curriculum Vitae

  • Daniel Farr Senior Lecturer of Sociology

    Principal Lecturer of Sociology

    dfarr4@kennesaw.edu
    (470) 578-7970
    Kennesaw Campus, 402 Social Sciences Bldg, Room 5006

    Areas of expertise: Gender, Sexuality, LGBTQ Studies, Queer Health, Media, Body Studies

    Dan Farr Curriculum Vitae

  • Brenna Helm

    Limited Term Instructor of Criminal Justice

    bhelm2@kennesaw.edu

    Areas of expertise: Digital criminology; extremism; deviant/violent subcultures; gender; extremists’ use of the Internet; tech-facilitated offending; extremist (dis)engagement and interventions

    Brenna Helm Curriculum Vitae

  • Chris Hess Assistant Professor of Sociology

    Assistant Professor of Sociology

    chess11@kennesaw.edu
    (470) 578-6739
    Kennesaw Campus, 375 Pilcher Public Service Bldg, Room 252

    Areas of Interest: Urban Sociology, Computational Social Science, Housing and Neighborhoods, Quantitative Methods, Social Demography, Data Visualization

    Chris Hess Curriculum Vitae

  • Melanie Holland Associate Professor of Criminal Justice

    Associate Professor of Criminal Justice

    mholla47@kennesaw.edu
    (470) 578-6739
    Kennesaw Campus, 402 Social Sciences Bldg, Room 4064

    Areas of expertise: Sentencing policies and theories, sentencing inequality, contextualization of disparate court outcomes

    Faculty web page

  • Richard Hutchinson Senior Lecturer of Sociology

    Senior Lecturer of Sociology

    rhutch13@kennesaw.edu
    (470) 578-6739
    Kennesaw Campus, 402 Social Sciences Bldg, Room 5122

    Areas of expertise: Social movements, social theory, environmental sociology, social stratification 

    Richard Hutchinson Curriculum Vitae

  • Wendell Johnson Senior Lecturer of Sociology

    Senior Lecturer of Sociology

    wjohn129@kennesaw.edu
    (470) 578-6739
    Kennesaw Campus, 402 Social Sciences Bldg, Room 4059

    Areas of expertise: Ethnography, community-based health interventions, health disparities

    Wendell Johnson Curriculum Vitae

  • Ian King Lecturer of Criminal Justice

    Lecturer of Criminal Justice

    iking25@kennesaw.edu
    (470) 578-4734
    Kennesaw Campus, 402 Social Sciences Bldg, Room 4059

    Areas of expertise: Prisoner Reentry, Community Corrections, Intimate Partner Violence, Health Disparities, Policy Influences on Criminal Offending

    Ian King Curriculum Vitae

  • Carolee Larsen Lecturer of Sociology

    Senior Lecturer of Sociology

    clarsen1@kennesaw.edu
    (470) 578-2365
    Kennesaw Campus, 402 Social Sciences Bldg, Room 5122

    Areas of expertise: Race/class/gender, classical and modern theory, qualitative methods, sociology of education

    Carolee Larsen Curriculum Vitae

  • Gang Lee Professor of Criminal Justice

    Professor of Criminal Justice

    glee18@kennesaw.edu
    (470) 578-2437
    Kennesaw Campus, 402 Social Sciences Bldg, Room 4072

    Areas of expertise: Cybercrime, international criminology, comparative criminal justice, program evaluation

    Faculty web page

    Gang Lee Curriculum Vitae

  • Darina Lepadatu Professor of Sociology

    Professor of Sociology

    dlepadat@kennesaw.edu
    (470) 578-6953
    Kennesaw Campus, 3201 School of Conflict Management, Room 110A

    Associate Director of Professional Programs and Director of MS in Conflict Management, School of Conflict Management, Peacebuilding & Development

    Areas of expertise: organizations, occupations, and work, international conflict management, transnational migration, qualitative methods

    Darina Lepadatu Curriculum Vitae

  • Dr.Tanja Link

    Coordinator of Internships for Criminal Justice and Professor of Criminal Justice and Sociology

    tlink1@kennesaw.edu
    (470) 578-2292
    Kennesaw Campus, 402 Social Sciences Bldg, Room 4054

    Areas of expertise: Vulnerable populations, corrections and reentry, barriers to reentry, desistance from crime, juvenile delinquency, substance use

    Tanja Link Curriculum Vitae

  • Michael Logan Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice

    Associate Professor of Criminal Justice

    mlogan21@kennesaw.edu
    (470) 578-6739
    Kennesaw Campus, 402 Social Sciences Bldg, Room 4063

    Areas of expertise: Violence, Violent Extremism, Criminal Organizations, Offender Decision-Making, Malevolent Creativity

    Faculty web page

    Michael Logan Curriculum Vitae

  • James McCafferty Associate Professor of Criminal Justice

    Professor of Criminal Justice

    jmccaff4@kennesaw.edu
    (470) 578-7771
    Kennesaw Campus, 402 Social Sciences Bldg, Room 4074

    Areas of expertise: Risk assessment, juvenile corrections, community corrections, campus gun policies

    Faculty web page

    Jim McCafferty Curriculum Vitae

  • Jason Mueller Assistant Professor of Sociology

    Assistant Professor of Sociology

    jmuell18@kennesaw.edu
    (470) 578-6739
    Kennesaw Campus, 375 Pilcher Public Service Bldg, Room 142

    Areas of interest: Global Social Change; Political-Economy of Development; Social Theory; Protests, Uprisings, & Insurgencies; Race, Ethnicity, & Indigeneity; Culture & Ideology; Psychoanalysis; Africana Studies; Comparative & Historical Methods

    Faculty Web Page

  • Felipe Salazar-Tobar Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice

    Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice

    fsalaza4@kennesaw.edu
    (470) 578-6739
    Kennesaw Campus, 375 Pilcher Public Service Bldg, Room 140

    Areas of expertise: Policing; Criminal Justice Policy; Comparative Criminology; Policy Diffusion, Research Methods; Social Networks Analysis

    Felipe Salazar-Tobar Curriculum Vitae

  • Professor of Criminal Justice

    hscherer@kennesaw.edu
    (470) 578-2894
    Kennesaw Campus, 402 Social Sciences Bldg, Room 4062

    Areas of expertise: Criminology, victimology, campus safety, sexual violence

    Heidi Scherer Curriculum Vitae

  • Brian Starks Associate Professor of Sociology

    Associate Professor of Sociology

    bstarks3@kennesaw.edu
    (470) 578-6710
    Kennesaw Campus, 402 Social Sciences Bldg, Room 3002A

    Areas of expertise: Religion and Politics, Catholic Identity, Campus Ministry and Young Adults

    Faculty web page

  • Cristina Stephens Associate Professor of Sociology

    Associate Professor of Sociology

    cstep123@kennesaw.edu
    (470) 578-6739
    Kennesaw Campus, 402 Social Sciences Bldg, Room 5093

    Areas of expertise: Immigration, acculturation, impact on health, family and quality of life

    Faculty web page

  • Lisa Thompson Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice

    Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice

    lthom255@kennesaw.edu
    (470) 578-6739
    Kennesaw Campus, 402 Social Sciences Bldg, Room 4070

    Areas of interest: Offending and Decision-Making; Military and Police Decision-Making; Violence Against Women, Quantitative Methods, Violent Extremism, Sex Offenses, Sexually Deviant Behavior, Forensic Psychology

    Lisa Thompson Curriculum Vitae

  • Christopher Totten Professor in Criminal Justice (Law)

    Professor of Criminal Justice

    ctotten@kennesaw.edu
    (470) 578-4413
    Kennesaw Campus, 402 Social Sciences Bldg, Room 4069

    Areas of expertise: Criminal Law and Procedure, Criminal Law and Society, International Criminal Law

    Chris Totten Curriculum Vitae

  • Dr. Linda Treiber

    Professor of Sociology

    ltreiber@kennesaw.edu
    (470) 578-2279
    Kennesaw Campus, 402 Social Sciences Bldg, Room 4070

    Areas of expertise: Medical Sociology, Nursing, Social Determinants of Health, Work/Organizations Gender

    Linda Treiber Selected Works

    Linda Treiber Curriculum Vitae

  • Kenneth White Associate Professor of Criminal Justice and Political Science

    Associate Professor of Political Science and Criminal Justice

    kwhite88@kennesaw.edu
    (470) 578-2928
    Kennesaw Campus, 402 Social Sciences Bldg, Room 5085

    Areas of expertise: Constitutional law, political theory, criminal procedure and ethics

    Faculty web page

    Ken White Curriculum Vitae

  • Dr. Amber Wilson Smiling

    Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice

    awils442@kennesaw.edu
    (470) 578-6739

    Areas of expertise: Institutional corrections, community corrections, reentry, corrections officers, justice-involved populations, gender and crime

    Amber Wilson Curriculum Vitae

Part-time and Limited Term Faculty

Name
Position

  • Dr. David Ayeni

    Part-time Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice

    oayeni6@kennesaw.edu
    (470) 578-6739
    Kennesaw Campus, 402 Social Sciences Bldg, Room 4005

    Areas of expertise: Policing, terrorism, crime and place , advanced quantitative methods

  • Tony Bailey Part-time Instructor of Criminal Justice

    Part-Time Instructor of Criminal Justice

    tbaile20@kennesaw.edu
    (470) 578-6739
    Kennesaw Campus, 402 Social Sciences Bldg, Room 4005

    Areas of expertise: Police Administration, Police in America

  • Dennis Brown Part-time Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice

    Part-Time Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice

    dbrown3@kennesaw.edu
    (470) 578-6739
    Kennesaw Campus, 402 Social Sciences Bldg, Room 4005

    Areas of expertise: Ideological/Group Violence and Law Enforcement, Information and Cyber Security

  • Jennifer Combs Part-time Instructor of Criminal Justice

    Part-time Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice

    jcombs10@kennesaw.edu
    (470) 578-6739
    Kennesaw Campus, 402 Social Sciences Bldg, Room 4005

    Areas of expertise: Corrections, Criminal Investigation, Ethics in Criminal Justice, Police in America

  • Part-time Assistant Professor of Sociology

    lcoto@kennesaw.edu
    (470) 578-6739

  • Dr. Christopher Dale

    Part-time Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice

    cdale14@kennesaw.edu
    (470) 578-6739

    Areas of Expertise: Policing, Police Leadership/Management, Alcohol & Drug Recognition/Impairment, Corrections, Intelligence 

  • Dr. Donovan Giardina

    Limited Term Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice

    dgiardi1@kennesaw.edu

    Areas of expertise: Criminal Justice policy, program management, program implementation, governmental accountability, data analytics

  • Rodney Hendrix Part-time Instructor of Criminal Justice

    Part-Time Instructor of Criminal Justice

    rhendr21@kennesaw.edu
    (470) 578-6739
    Kennesaw Campus, 402 Social Sciences Bldg, Room 4005

    Areas of expertise: Crimes and Defenses, Criminal Investigation

  • Laquanda Jackson Part-time Instructor of Sociology

    Part-Time Instructor of Sociology

    ljack170@kennesaw.edu
    (470) 578-6739
    Kennesaw Campus, 402 Social Sciences Bldg, Room 4005

    Areas of expertise: Intro to Sociology, Social Problems, Social Organization

  • Part-time Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice

    gkillam@kennesaw.edu
    (470) 578-6739
    Kennesaw Campus, 402 Social Sciences Bldg, Room 4005

  • Steve Kish Part-time Instructor of Criminal Justice

    Part-Time Instructor of Criminal Justice

    smk8041@kennesaw.edu
    (470) 578-6739
    Kennesaw Campus, 402 Social Sciences Bldg, Room 4005

    Areas of expertise: Foundations of Criminal Justice, Police

  • Part-Time Instructor of Criminal Justice

    nlehner@kennesaw.edu
    (470) 578-6739
    Kennesaw Campus, 402 Social Sciences Bldg, Room 4005

  • Part-time Assistant Professor of Sociology

    clunk@kennesaw.edu
    (470) 578-6739

  • Nathan McCreary

    Part-time Instructor of Criminal Justice

    nam5924@kennesaw.edu

    Areas of expertise: The Criminal Justice System, Criminal law, Criminal Procedure, Crisis Negotiations, Law Enforcement Leadership 

  • Dr. Katie McIntyre Smiling

    Limited Term Assistant Professor of Sociology

    kmcinty6@kennesaw.edu
    (470) 578-6739
    Kennesaw Campus, 375 Pilcher Public Service Bldg, Room 141

    Areas of expertise: Medical Sociology, sociology of mental health, drug use and abuse, and gender. 

  • Part-time Instructor of Criminal Justice

    mnowak2@kennesaw.edu
    (470) 578-6739

  • Shanika Perry Part time Instructor of Criminal Justice

    Part-time Instructor of Criminal Justice

    sperry59@kennesaw.edu
    (470) 578-6739
    Kennesaw Campus, 402 Social Sciences Bldg, Room 4005

    Areas of expertise: Juvenile Justice, Profiling of the Serial Offenders, Criminal Courts

  • Jennifermichele Petersen

    Part-time Instructor of Criminal Justice

    jpete173@kennesaw.edu
    (470) 578-6739
    Kennesaw Campus, 402 Social Sciences Bldg, Room 4005

    Areas of expertise: Criminological Theory, Criminal Courts, Correctional theory

  • Malachi-Chaim Robinson Part-time Instructor of Criminal Justice

    Part-time Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice

    mrobin86@kennesaw.edu
    (470) 578-6739
    Kennesaw Campus, 402 Social Sciences Bldg, Room 4005

    Areas of expertise: Tech and Cyber-crime

  • Elena Rumiano

    Part-time Assistant Professor of Sociology

    erumiano@kennesaw.edu
    (470) 578-6739

    Areas of Interest: Workforce Diversity and Inclusion; Organizational Conflict; Interpersonal Dynamics in the Workplace; Social Inequality; Online Learning; School-to-Work Transition

  • Part-Time Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice

    prussel6@kennesaw.edu
    (470) 578-6739
    Kennesaw Campus, 402 Social Sciences Bldg, Room 4005

    Areas of expertise: Criminal Courts, Criminal Procedures, Crimes and Defenses, Foundation of Criminal Justice

  • Gary Shoats Part-time Instructor of Criminal Justice

    Part-Time Instructor of Criminal Justice

    gshoats@kennesaw.edu
    (470) 578-6739
    Kennesaw Campus, 402 Social Sciences Bldg, Room 4005

    Areas of expertise: Foundation of Criminal Justice, Police in America

  • Angie Smith Part-time Instructor of Criminal Justice

    Part-Time Instructor of Criminal Justice

    astephe8@kennesaw.edu
    (470) 578-6739
    Kennesaw Campus, 402 Social Sciences Bldg, Room 4005

    Areas of expertise: Cyber-crime

  • Part-Time Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice

    fstarost@kennesaw.edu
    (470) 578-6739
    Kennesaw Campus, 402 Social Sciences Bldg, Room 4005

    Areas of expertise: Criminal Courts, Criminal Procedures, Crimes and Defenses, Foundations of Criminal Justice 

  • Todd Vande Zande Part-time Instructor of Criminal Justice

    Part-Time Instructor of Criminal Justice

    tav6723@kennesaw.edu
    (470) 578-6739
    Kennesaw Campus, 402 Social Sciences Bldg, Room 4005

    Areas of expertise: Technology & Cyber Crime, Police in America, Police Administration, Juvenile Justice 

  • Dr. William White

    Part-time Assistant Professor of Sociology

    wwhite61@kennesaw.edu
    (470) 578-6739
    Kennesaw Campus, 402 Social Sciences Bldg, Room 5122

    Areas of expertise: Racial Identity, Housing Discrimination, Neighborhood Redevelopment, Education (Sociology of Knowledge), and Motorcycle Clubs