College Faculty

Dean and Sheldon L. Messinger Professor of Criminology · Executive Director, Center for Criminology and Public Policy Research
Blomberg’s research is focused upon identifying ways to more effectively link research knowledge to public policy. This includes examining the relationship between educational achievement among incarcerated youthful offenders and successful…

Professor · Faculty Affiliate, Center for Criminology and Public Policy Research
Prior to joining the faculty in the College of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Florida State University in August of 2003, Bill Bales was the director of research with the…

Judith Rich Harris Professor of Criminology · Director, Distance Learning Program
Beaver’s research examines the biosocial underpinnings to antisocial behaviors. He has employed behavioral genetic and molecular genetic methodologies to unpack the gene-environmental basis to a range of criminal and delinquent…

Erin Castro received her Ph.D. from the University of Florida in the Department of Sociology, Criminology and Law. Her research focuses on disentangling the effect of perceived and objective control…

William Julius Wilson Professor of Criminology
Ted Chiricos' recent research examined the predictors and consequences of criminal justice punitiveness. This work has shown that economic insecurity and the extent to which people link crime with race,…

Cecilia Chouhy received her Ph.D. in Criminal Justice from University of Cincinnati. Her work focuses on conducting international tests of criminological theories, evaluating the effectiveness of correctional programs, and understanding…

Dr. Billy Close is currently an Assistant Professor and Director of Service Learning and Mentoring in the College of Criminology & Criminal Justice at Florida State University. His current research…

Jennifer Copp received her Ph.D. in Sociology from Bowling Green State University. Her research focuses broadly on the ways in which economic and other forms of marginalization shape family life…

Ieke de Vries received her Ph.D. in Criminology and Justice Policy from Northeastern University. Her research interests include human trafficking, digital opportunities for crime, victimization, place and networks. Dr. de…

Emma E. Fridel received her Ph.D. in Criminology and Justice Policy from Northeastern University. She primarily studies violence and aggression with a focus on homicide, including school violence, homicide–suicide, serial and mass…

Professor Emeritus · Faculty Affiliate, Institute for the Prevention of Financial Fraud
Gertz is most well known for successfully conducting thousands and thousands of surveys, which have been used by professors and doctoral students within and outside the college for high quality…

Professor · Director, Graduate Program
Hay’s research examines the causes and prevention of crime with special attention to the family environment, the development of self-control, and policy efforts to reduce juvenile crime.

Young-An Kim received his Ph.D. in Criminology, Law & Society from the University of California-Irvine. His research interests include neighborhoods and crime, criminology of place, geo-spatial analysis, urban sociology, and…

David J. Bordua Professor Emeritus
Professor Kleck’s recent research has found that employing more police officers or increasing police productivity in the form of more arrests per officer has no measurable effect on the public’s…

Brendan Lantz received his Ph.D. from The Pennsylvania State University. His research interests focus on hate crime, violence, victimization, and co-offending. He was a Bureau of Justice Statistics Graduate Research…

Mark C. Stafford Professor of Criminology
Mears’ current research has identified ways in which community conditions influence sentencing decisions; variation in the theoretical justification, uses, and impacts of supermax prisons; the recidivism-reducing effects of inmate visitation;…

Sylwia J. Piatkowska received her Ph.D. in Sociology in May of 2016 from State University of New York at Albany. Her areas of interest include hate crime, suicide, inequality, policing,…

Before coming to FSU, Joseph A. Schwartz was an Associate Professor in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at University of Nebraska at Omaha. His research interests include life-course/developmental…

Sonja Siennick studies criminal offending and mental health problems in the contexts of the life course and kinship and friendship relations. Her current project, funded by the National Institute of…

Ronald L. Simons Professor of Criminology
Stewart’s recent research has found that neighborhood ecological characteristics influence recidivism, aspirations, and violence.

Stults' research focuses largely on discrimination in the application of social control. His recent work, published in Criminology and the American Journal of Sociology, addressed racial differences in arrest rates…

Jillian Turanovic received her Ph.D. in Criminology and Criminal Justice from Arizona State University. Her research focuses on various issues in criminological theory and correctional policy, with a special focus on…

Dr. Waldo’s experience covers a wide range of activities related to academic criminology and the criminal justice system. This includes almost 50 years of University teaching, administration, and research, in…

Professor · Director, Undergraduate Program
Patricia Y. Warren, received her Ph.D. in Sociology from North Carolina State University. Her research focuses on social control and punishment, racial and gender stratification, racial profiling, collateral consequences of…

Marin Wenger received her Ph.D. in Sociology from Pennsylvania State University. Her work focuses on stratification, communities and crime, deviance, and quantitative methods.

Steven Zane received his Ph.D. in Criminology from the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Northeastern University. Additionally, Dr. Zane holds a J.D. from Boston College Law School. His…