Our recent doctoral graduates from the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice successfully defended their dissertations and moved into academic roles. Following graduation, these scholars accepted postdoctoral and faculty positions at universities across the country.
Matthew Kafafian, PhD in Criminology and Justice Policy, 2023
Dissertation
An Exploration of Victimization and Offending in Unusual Contexts
Research Interests
Human Trafficking; Victimization; Criminological Theory
Current Position
Assistant Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Sociology at George Washington University.
Sarah Lockwood, PhD in Criminology and Justice Policy, 2024
Dissertation
Sex Trafficking Of Male Victims: How We Understand The Issue And Our Responses
Research Interests
Intersection of formal institutions and victims of crime, with an emphasis on marginalized populations, human trafficking, and bias-motivated victimization.
Recent Awards
Co-Investigator on a National Institute of Justice Grant. The title is A National Review of Multidisciplinary Teams Addressing Child Sexual Exploitation. The partners are the University of Nebraska–Omaha, Northeastern University, and the University of South Florida.
Current Position
Assistant Professor at the University of South Florida and Faculty affiliate of the Trafficking in Persons Risk to Resiliency Lab at USF.
Stephen Abeyta, PhD in Criminology and Justice Policy, 2023
Dissertation
Latinx Workplace Violence, Victimization, and Harm.
Research Interests
My research interests are on labor-related harm, victimization, exploitation, and safety.
Current Position
Currently a post-doc at New York University and incoming Assistant Professor at the University of Tampa.
Riley Tucker, PhD in Criminology and Justice Policy, 2023
Dissertation
Who, What, When, Where: Using Online Data to Assess the Characteristics and Criminogenic Dynamics of Guardianship Ecologies
Research Interests
Crime and place, computational methods, online data
Current Position
Assistant Professor of Criminology, Pennsylvania State University
Madison Gerdes, PhD in Criminology and Justice Policy, 2024
Dissertation
The Framing of Mass Public Shootings: Politicians, Press, and the Public
Research Interests
Homicide, Mass Violence, Gun Ownership, Media Coverage of Violence, and Queer Criminology
Current Position
Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology and Criminology at the University of Montana
Congratulations to our doctoral graduates for their tremendous achievements!
