The College of Criminal Justice added five new Ph.D. graduates, awarded more than 40 Masters’ degrees in Criminal Justice, Security Studies, and Criminal Justice Leadership and Management and bestowed diplomas to about 135 criminal justice undergraduate students during the summer commencement ceremony on Aug. 2.
Joining the ranks of Ph.D. graduates were Drs. Robin Jackson, Jeonglim Kim, Tatyana Menaker, Mai Naito, and Melissa Petkovsek. The College also awarded five Masters of Art and four Masters of Science in Criminal Justice; 15 Masters of Science in Criminal Justice Leadership and Management in the online program and 17 in the weekend program; and a Master of Science in Security Studies.
Dr. Jackson’s dissertation was “Empirical Assessment of the Theory of African American Offending among a University Sample and a Partial Test of Gender Differences in African American Offending.” Her committee included Chair Dr. Leana Bouffard and Drs. Howard Henderson and Kelly Knight. She is a Policy Analyst with the Council of State Governments Justice Center in New York.
Dr. Kim’s dissertation was “Examination of Six Aspects of Police Officer Stress: Looking into Organizational Stressors for Police Occupational Stress in South Korea.” His committee was chaired by Dr. William Wells and included Drs. Jihong Solomon Zhao and William King. He is an Assistant Professor at Tarleton State University.
Dr. Menaker’s dissertation was “Characteristics of Commercially Sexually Exploited Girls: A Comparison of Girls with and Without a History of Involvement in the Sex Trade.” Her committee included Chair Dr. Courtney Franklin and Drs. Travis W. Franklin and Wells.
Dr. Naito’s dissertation was “Reliability of Eyewitness Evidence: An Analysis of State-Level Decisions Using Manson v. Brathwaite’s Criteria.” Her committee was chaired by Dr. Michael S. Vaughn and included Drs. Dennis Longmire and Phillip Lyons. She is an assistant professor in the Department of Criminology at the University of West Georgia.
Dr. Petkovsek’s dissertation was “Molecular Genetic Scaffolding of Maladaptive Behaviors and Victimization.” Her committee included Chair Dr. Brian Boutwell and Drs. Danielle Boisvert and Scott Menard. She is an Assistant Professor at the University of Central Missouri.