Jennifer Smith

Biography

Jennifer Smith is a lecturer in criminal justice in the School of Public Affairs at Penn State Harrisburg where she teaches Introduction to Criminal Justice, Criminology and Juvenile Justice courses. She also serves as the Faculty Adviser for Phi Sigma Upsilon (Criminal Justice Club). Jennifer Smith received both her B.S. and M.A. in criminal justice from Penn State Harrisburg. She is currently enrolled in Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s Ph.D. program in Administration and Leadership Studies for Nonprofit and Public Sectors. Her master’s thesis was a study of intergenerational patterns of offending in a local Pennsylvania county prison, and came about through collaboration with several professors at Penn State Harrisburg and local criminal justice officials. This collaboration led to presentations at national conferences and a publication in the Journal of Crime and Justice, as well as the 2012 Penn State Harrisburg Outstanding Master’s Thesis Award. Jennifer Smith’s research interests include life-course/developmental criminology, biosocial criminology, corrections policy, juvenile justice and the scholarship of teaching and learning.

Research Interest

Life-course/developmental criminology, Biosocial criminology, Corrections policy