Ph.D. Alumni
Doctoral Program Graduates
The School of Criminology and Criminal Justice admitted its first cohort of doctoral students in 1994. Since that time, a number of students have earned their doctorate of philosophy (Ph.D.) in criminology and criminal justice from the University of Nebraska. The recipients of the School’s highest degree are listed below, along with the title of their dissertation and the faculty member who served as their dissertation chair.
Steven Windisch (left) and Marijana "Maja" Kotlaja pose toegther after receiving their doctoral degrees at the Spring 2019 commencement ceremony.
| Student | Dissertation Title | Chair |
| 2019 | ||
| Marijana Kotalaja | Economic Hardship, Outgroup Animosity, and Low Trust in Institutions: Exploring Consequences of Crime, Moral Disengagement and Social Unrest in Belgrade, Serbia. | Robert Meier |
| Edith "Penny" Westfall | Exploring the Relationship between Criminal Thinking and Emotional Intelligence in Iowa Female Prisoners. | Lisa Sample |
| Steven Windisch | From Swaddling to Swastikas: A Life-Course Investigation of White Supremacist Extremism. | Samantha Clinkinbeard |
| 2018 | ||
| Rita Augustyn | An Evaluation of Residential Substance Abuse Treatment Programs at the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services | Lisa Sample |
| Timothy Barnum | Examining the Role of Sensation Seeking and Risk and Reward Appraisal in the Etiology of Athlete Risk-Taking Behavior | Todd Armstrong |
| Calli M. Cain | Examining the Gendered Effects of Prior Victimization on Delinquency Type among a Sample of Justice-Involved Youth | Amy Anderson |
| Joselyne Chenane | The Effect of Police Contact and Neighborhood Context on Delinquency and Violence | Emily Wright |
| Danielle C. Slakoff | The Representation of Female Victims in Front-Page News Stories: The Effect of Race/Ethnicity | Pauline Brennan |
| Starr Solomon | Examining the Role of Treatment Quality, Decision-Making Quality, and Driver Race during Traffic Stops | Samantha Clinkinbeard |
| 2017 | ||
| H. Daniel Butler | Improving Model Specification in Quantitative Studies of Inmate Deviance | Benjamin Steiner |
| Jared Ellison | An Opportunity Model of Victimization Risk for Jail Inmates and Correctional Officers | Benjamin Steiner |
| 2016 |
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| Karyn Sporer | Families and Their Aggressive Children with Mental Illness | Pete Simi |
| 2015 | ||
| Danielle Bailey | Diffusion of Shame: Experiences of Sex Offender Family Support Networks. | Lisa Sample |
| Robert Lytle | American Criminal Justice Policy Change: An Example Using Sex Offender Registration and Notification Laws. | Lisa Sample |
| Dana Radatz | Domestic Violence, Batterer Intervention, and Effective Correctional Programming | Emily Wright |
| Trisha Rhodes | Police Culture at a Crossroads: An Analysis of Police in Schools | Sam Clinkinbeard |
| 2014 | ||
| Bryan Bubolz | Once a gang member always a gang member? A life history study of gang desistance. |
Pete Simi |
| 2013 |
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Connie Koski |
Neighborhood informal social control, race, and gentrification: An ethnographic axploration. |
Pete Simi |
|
Sandra Petersen |
Perception of violence on the Pine Ridge American Indian Reservation and the role of perceived poverty and isolation in those perceptions. |
Lisa Sample |
|
Abby Vandenberg |
The development of a statistical model to predict parole outcome in Nebraska. |
Lisa Sample |
|
Timbre Wulf-Ludden |
Pseudo-Families and institutional misconduct in a women's prison: A test of General Strain Theory. |
Robert Meier |
| 2012 |
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|
Mary Evans |
Differences in delinquency among children with and without learning disabilities: A meta-analysis. |
Amy Anderson |
|
Benjamin Gibbs |
Equitable deterrence: The effects of consistently applied graduated sanctions in drug court. |
William Wakefield |
|
Michael Harrington |
Examining the construct of prison adjustment. |
Robin Ogle |
|
Yanhua Liu |
Felony sentencing in Washington state, 2000-2004: A multilevel study of individual and contextual effects. |
Lorine Hughes |
|
Tusty ten Bensel |
The collective nature of sexual violence: A comparative case study analysis of Bosnia and Sierra Leone. |
Lisa Sample |
| 2011 |
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|
William T. Morris |
Breaking the criminogenic code: A frame analysis of Neo-Nazi and violent Jihadi propaganda. |
Pete Simi |
|
Ann Stacey Reeser |
The tipping point to terrorism: Involvement in right-wing terrorist groups in the United States. |
Pete Simi |
| 2010 |
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|
Scott Chenault |
An ethnographic examination of correctional officer culture in a Midwestern state. |
Pete Simi |
|
Dae-Young Kim |
The impact of globalization and technological innovations on crime and punishment in the United States, 1945-2007. |
Candice Batton |
| 2009 |
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Esperanze Camargo |
Family violence under a multicultural perspective in Colombia. |
Jon Crank |
|
James H. Geistman Jr. |
Attitudes of criminal justice and other majors toward the crime of stalking. |
Robin Ogle |
|
Ibrahim Ferzan |
The perceptions of Turkish police captains about the use of techniques of neutralization by Turkish offenders. |
Miriam DeLone |
|
Denise L. Olsen |
The sentencing recommendation of the probation officer. What does it really mean?: Findings from one small county in California. |
Lisa Sample |
|
Ibrahim Mese |
Does sex make a difference? The study of gender differences in crime in Turkey. |
Miriam DeLone |
|
Jawjeong Wu |
Immigration, race/ethnicity, and differential sentencing: An examination of the effects of citizenship status on sentencing outcomes in federal courts. |
Miriam DeLone |
| 2008 |
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Blythe Bowman |
Transitional crimes against culture: Looting at archaeological sites and the grey market in antiquities. |
Pete Simi |
|
William McCarty |
Trailers and trouble? An examination of crime, calls for service, and community ties in mobile home communities. |
Lisa Sample |
|
Michael Seredycz |
Effectiveness of an access to recovery (ATR) Lake City offender reentry programs. |
William Wakefield |
|
Katharine M. Tellis |
When the bedroom is the crime scene: Contextualizing intimate partner rape. |
Pete Simi |
| 2007 |
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Steven J. Briggs |
People and places: An examination of searches during traffic stops in Minneapolis. |
Miriam DeLone |
|
Brett Garland |
Job satisfaction and organizational commitment among non-custody prison staff: A comparative analysis. |
Jihong Zhao |
|
Suzanne M. Godboldt |
Exploring community effects on domestic violence through a social disorganization perspective. |
Amy Anderson |
|
Trent Ikerd |
Examining the institutionalization of problem-oriented policing: The Charlotte-Mecklenburg police department as a case study. |
Samuel Walker |
|
Amy L. Poland |
Got training? The effect of mental health training on the attitudes and behaviors of direct care workers in a residential facility for juvenile offenders. |
Miriam DeLone |
|
Eric J. Wodahl |
The efficacy of graduated sanctions in reducing technical violations among probationers and parolees: An evaluation of the Wyoming Department of Corrections Intensive Supervision Program. |
Robin Ogle |
|
Ruohui Zhao |
Determinants of anomie: A cross-national study. |
Jihon Zhao |
|
Jill M. Fort |
Why are more women being incarcerated? An examination of the decision making involved in sentencing. |
Robin Ogle |
| 2006 |
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William Crawley |
Substance abuse and dependency disorders in the criminal justice system: An exploratory examination of the validity, efficacy and influences on self-report methodologies utilized via diagnostic screening instrumentation in criminal justice institutionalized populations. |
William Wakefield |
|
Gale Iles |
America's forgotten paradise: An assessment of sentencing decisions and outcomes in the United States Virgin Islands. |
Cassie Spohn |
|
Elizabeth A. Maier (Elliott) |
Juvenile justice by geography: Dispositions in mixed and specialized jurisdictions in Nebraska. |
Cassie Spohn |
|
Samantha O'Hara |
Making a federal case out of it: Prosecutorial discretion and the United States sentencing guidelines in a multi-district study. |
Cassie Spohn |
|
Ling Ren |
Rethinking the crime drop in the United States during the 1990s: An examination of competing theoretical perspectives. |
Ineke Marshall, |
| 2005 |
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Jeremy Ball |
The effect of offender characteristics on plea bargaining: Testing an integrated theory. |
Cassie Spohn |
|
Erika Davis-Frenzel |
Issues in the measurement of sentencing outcomes: Implications for research on sex disparity in sentencing. |
Cassie Spohn |
|
Mark Foxall |
Latino homicides: The influence of residential segregation. |
Cassie Spohn |
|
Christopher L. Gibson |
A psychometric investigation of a self-control scale: The reliability and validity of Grasmick et al.'s scale for a sample of incarcerated male offenders. |
Ineke Marshall |
|
Richard Hartley |
Type of counsel and its effects on criminal court outcomes in a large Midwestern jurisdiction: Do you get what you pay for? |
Cassie Spohn |
|
Kimberly D. Hassell |
A cross-precinct analysis of police patrol practices and the negotiations of order among patrol. |
Jihong Zhao |
|
Dawn Irlbeck |
Patterns of questioning during traffic stops: A study of possible racial/ethnic profiling. |
Samuel Walker |
|
Sean Maddan |
Sex offenders as outsiders: A reexamination of the labeling perspective utilizing current sex offender registration and notification policies. |
Ineke Marshall |
|
Rebecca Murray |
An assessment of the effects of liquor-serving establishments on crime focusing on blocks with bars, blocks behind bars and blocks around bars. |
Dennis Roncek |
|
Tracy Nobiling |
A tale of two cities: The effect of offender's employment status on sentence severity in Chicago and Kansas City. |
Cassie Spohn |
|
Steve Wilson |
Determining the correlates of police victimization: An analysis of social disorganization and organizational level factors on injurious assaults. |
Jihong Zhao |
| 2004 |
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|
Shentell, Auffart |
The sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine under the federal sentencing guidelines: The impact and ramifications on equal protection and due process. |
Cassie Spohn |
|
Michael J. Elbert |
The correlates of supervised release outcomes in a federal jurisdiction: A comparison of offenders who were revoked and successfully terminated under the United States sentencing guidelines from 1998—2002. |
Cassie Spohn |
|
Amanda J. Mathias |
Juvenile sexual assault victims and their decisions not to cooperate with the prosecution: A look at San Diego. |
Samuel Walker |
|
Judy L. Porter |
Perceptions of social incivilities in the surroundings of elderly-only and mixed population high-rise public housing. |
Dennis Roncek |
| 2003 |
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Dawn M. Beichner |
Prosecutorial charging decisions in sexual assault cases: Examining the impact of a specialized unit. |
Cassie Spohn |
|
Molly Brown |
Similarities and differences in sentencing decisions of men and women judges in Cook County Circuit. |
Cassie Spohn |
|
Marc L. Swatt |
Short-term forecasting of crime for small geographic areas. |
Dennis Roncek |
| 2002 |
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|
Carol A. Archbold |
Innovations in police accountability: An exploration study of risk management and police legal advising. |
Samuel Walker |
|
Leigh Herbst |
The impact of new immigration patterns on the provision of police services in Midwestern communities. |
Samuel Walker |
|
Jennifer Johnson |
The person in context: The impact of early onset criminality on high risk for violence situations. |
Julie Horney |
|
T. Hank Robinson |
Towards bridging the gap between micro and macro levels of analysis in criminology. |
Ineke Marshall |
|
Terrance Taylor |
The dynamics of social control during the adolescent life-course. |
Finn Esbensen |
|
Keith A. Wilmot |
Prosecutorial discretion and real offense sentencing under the federal sentencing guidelines: An analysis of relevant conduct. |
Cassie Spohn |
|
Dana Peterson |
"Don't forget the women": A multi-level analysis of individual and contextual effects on girls' and boys' delinquency. |
Finn Esbensen, |
| 2001 |
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|
Kevin Cannon |
The effect of gang membership on prison rule violations. |
Dennis Roncek |
|
Lori A. Guevera |
Legal representation in the juvenile court: The interaction of race and counsel on juvenile court outcomes. |
Cassie Spohn |
|
David Holleran III |
An examination of the variation in sentencing young black males across individual judges (Pennsylvania). |
Cassie Spohn |
| 2000 |
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|
Paula M. Kautt |
Separating and estimating the effects of the federal sentencing guidelines and the federal mandatory "minimums": Isolating the sources of racial disparity. |
Cassie Spohn |
|
Jessie L. Krienert |
Testing an integrated model of masculinity and violence. |
Julie Horney |
|
Lorie L. Reubenser |
Special units in policing: A case study of a nuisance task force. |
Samuel Walker |
| 1999 |
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|
Jeffrey W. Spears |
Diversity in the courtroom: A comparison of the sentencing decisions of black and white judges in Cook County Circuit Court. |
Cassie Spohn |
|
William Wells |
The situational role of firearms in violent encounters. |
Julie Horney |
| 1998 |
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|
Tricia L. Klosky |
Testing integrated theoretical model of offender's perceptions of risk. |
Ineke Marshall |
|
Betsy W. Kreisel |
An evaluation of police officers' perceptions of internal and external systems of citizen complaint procedures of police misconduct. |
Samuel Walker |
|
Roxann M Ryan |
Prosecution strategies in domestic violence felonies: An exploration study. |
Cassie Spohn |
| 1997 |
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|
Ni He |
Testing an integrated Durkheimian modernization theory versus a dynamic Marxian economic theory: Pooled cross-sectional time-series analysis of international crime data. |
Ineke Marshall |
|
Charles Katz |
Police and gangs: A study of a police gang unit. |
Sam Walker |