Education

• 1986     Ph.D.     Sociology, University of New Hampshire
• 1980     M.A.       Sociology, University of Iowa
• 1975     B.A.       Sociology and Anthropology, Western Illinois University

Areas of Interest

• Criminological theory
• Death penalty
• Quantitative research methods

Courses Taught

• Violence, Societal Legitimation of Violence, and Child Abuse
• Criminal Justice, Corrections, and Law Enforcement
• Peace Research
• Deviance and Social Control, Criminology, and Drug Use
• Sociology of the Family, and Family Violence
• Race and Ethnic Relations
• Sociological Research Methods and Program Evaluation

Academic Biography
Barbara’s academic path involves conducting research about violence, from the perspectives of both offenders and victims.  She focuses on social justice with efforts to find a means for the rights of all people.  She has conducted extensive international research analyzing traditional and innovative means for sentencing.  Also, she has considerable experience in providing program evaluations for justice- involved organizations including drug courts, victims services, gang intervention programs and child advocacy centers.  She teaches undergraduate and graduate student in Community Corrections, Victimology, and Program Evaluation.  She also has taught an experiential corrections class called JOLT, where students mentor high risk juveniles and then are mentored themselves by area probation officers.