Three new professors join department

Since the last edition of Criminal Justice News was published in April 2013, we have had five people join the department.

Craig Hemmens joined the department as a Professor this past August. He holds a J.D.  from North Carolina Central University School of Law and a Ph.D. in Criminal Justice from Sam Houston State University. Prior to arriving at WSU, he served as Chair of the Department of Criminology & Criminal Justice at Missouri State University, and before that as Chair of the Department of Criminal Justice, Director of the Paralegal Studies Program, and Director of the Honors College at Boise State University. He is also the immediate past president of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, having served as the ACJS President in 2012-2013. Craig has published 20 books and more than one hundred articles on a variety of criminal justice-related topics, and has coauthored works with over 35 different students. His primary research interests are criminal law and procedure and corrections.

Mary Stohr also joined the department as a Professor this semester. Mary has been a leader in academic criminal justice for over a decade. Mary earned her Ph.D. in political science, with specializations in criminal justice and public administration, from WSU in 1990 under the direction of Nick Lovrich. Previously she worked at Missouri State, Boise State and at New Mexico State Universities. Before academe, she worked as a corrections officer in an adult male prison in Washington state (for less than a year) and as a correctional counselor (for about two years). Mary has published over 80 academic works in the areas of correctional organizations and operation, correctional personnel, inmate needs and assessment, green criminology, program evaluation, gender, and victimization. Mary currently serves as the Executive Director of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences. She is a past two-term treasurer for ACJS, received the Academy’s Founders Award in 2009, is a co-founder of the Corrections Section of ACJS, and a founding member of the ACJS Minorities and Women’s Section.

This semester we also had Aaron Roussell join the department as an Assistant Professor. Aaron earned his Ph.D. in Criminology, Law & Society at the University of California, Irvine in 2013 and has a M.A. in Sociology from the University of Wyoming. His research and teaching interests focus on conceptions of race, class, and social danger, specifically with respect to community policing, disorder, and drug law. He is also interested in problems of method and how they fit into a larger discourse on law and science. His approaches are informed by a blend of sociology, law and society, criminology, and critical theory. His current research projects include ethnographic research on community/police co-governance, race, and class in Los Angeles; statistical investigations of population structure and crime; a challenge to traditional drug addiction theories over the life course; and a critical reading of disorder policing.

In addition to the professors, there were two other additions to the department. Kelli Laxson joined us as an academic coordinator. Kelli previously worked as an Academic and Career Advisor at the WSU Center for Advising and Career Development. Kelli has a Master of Education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and a B.S. in Business Management from Appalachia State University. Kelli has been doing a great job for us. We are lucky to have her.

Our fifth new addition is Najla (pronounced “Nyla”) Rasic. Azra gave birth to her daughter Najla on September 8, 2013. Both mom and daughter (and dad) are doing great. If you would like to see more pictures of Najla, simply ask Azra, and she would be glad to show off her joy. We are thrilled to have these significant additions to the department. Whenever you are in the vicinity of Johnson Tower, feel free to stop by and say hello.