Hundreds of students graduated from the College of Criminal Justice on May 9, including five doctoral students who earned Ph.D. degrees.
Among those reaching the top academic ranks in the criminal justice field are Drs. Ben D. Atkins, Bradley A. Campbell, Jonathan A. Grubb, Leah A. McCoy, and Hee Sub Shim. They were joined by 37 students earning master’s degrees and 265 earning bachelor degrees in criminal justice fields.
The ceremony, held in the Johnson Coliseum, featured keynote speaker Ronald “Ron” Koska, the CEO of Institutional Sales Associates, a $500 million sales firm with offices in Houston, Austin, Lubbock, Dallas and Albuquerque.
The topics investigated by Ph.D. graduates covered diverse areas of the criminal justice field.
Dr. Atkins dissertation was on “The Newsmaking Criminality of American Neo-Nazi groups 1991-2011: A Content Analysis.” Dr. Atkins is an Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice at Midwestern State University. His dissertation committee included Chair Dr. Willard M. Oliver and members Drs. Larry Hoover and Randy Garner.
Dr. Campbell’s dissertation was “Predictors of Police Decision Making in Sexual Assault Investigations.” He is an Assistant Professor at the University of Louisville in Kentucky. His dissertation committee chair was Dr. William R. King and committee members included Drs. William Wells and Cortney Franklin.
Dr. Grubb’s dissertation was entitled “Integrated Theory and the Path Less Traveled: Recognizing the Applicability of an Integrated Criminological Theory for Examining Violent Victimization.” He will work as an Assistant Professor at Prairie View A & M University. His dissertation committee was chaired Dr. Leana A. Bouffard, with committee members Drs. Lisa Muftic and Matt Nobles.
Dr. McCoy presented her dissertation on “Risk, Psychopathy, and Predicting Recidivism in Female Sexual Offenders.” Her dissertation committee was chaired by Dr. Holly A. Miller, with members Drs. Bouffard and Danielle Boisvert.
Dr. Hee Sub Shim wrote his dissertation on “Juvenile Attitudes toward the Police Instrumental and Expressive Perspectives.” His committee was chaired by Dr. Hoover, with committee members Drs. Jihong Zhao and Yan Zhang.