The Department of Criminology made a strong impact at the 63rd Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS) Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, where students, faculty, and honor society members were recognized for their scholarship, leadership, and engagement.
During the concurrent Alpha Phi Sigma (APS) National Criminal Justice Honor Society Conference, the Sigma Chapter on the Tampa campus earned several distinctions, including a Chapter Project Grant, supporting scholarly and service initiatives, and the Star Chapter Award, which recognizes chapters that meet a series of academic and organizational benchmarks such as conference participation, advisor engagement, scholarship submissions, annual reporting, and hosting an induction ceremony. The chapter also received the Social Media Award and an Honorable Mention for an Instagram reel.
Undergraduate member Michelle Rivera received an Attendance Scholarship for participating in multiple conference events. Rivera and fellow undergraduate student Macey Baker, the chapter’s philanthropy chair, represented USF in the Student Mystery Mixer, the Criminal Justice Knowledge Scholarship Test, and the College Quiz Bowl. They also joined chapter advisor Amber Oderinde, MS, assistant instructor and undergraduate coordinator in the Department of Criminology, for a tour of Eastern State Penitentiary.
USF faculty members Oderinde and Colby Valentine, PhD, an associate professor of instruction, both active in the ACJS Teaching, Learning, and Scholarship Section, participated in the section’s business meeting and reception. Valentine began her term as secretary/treasurer during the conference. Together, they contributed to two roundtable sessions focused on teaching pedagogy and innovation in criminal justice education, sharing insights on instructional strategies and student engagement.
| George Burruss, PhD | "Navigating External Pressures as Academic Leaders: Protecting Students, Faculty, and Academic Freedom" |
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Lori Hall, PhD |
"Maladaptive Coping: Drug and Alcohol Use in Trauma Avoidance" "Unheard Voices: The Trauma of Policing" |
| Emily D. Walker, doctoral student Joan Reid, PhD |
"Predictive Validity of ۴ý’s Human Trafficking Screening Tool Across Race and Gender" |
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Joan Reid, PhD |
"The Findings From a Systematic Review of Multidisciplinary Teams Addressing Child Sexual Exploitation" |
| YongJei Lee, PhD Soohyun O, PhD |
"From Forecast to Patrol: A Randomized Pilot of Real-Time Hot-Spot Deployment in Sarasota" "Juvenile Crime Hot Spots in Sarasota: A Comparative Rank Product Analysis of Youth and Adult" |
| YongJei Lee, PhD | "Behind the Bar: How Bartenders and Regulars Co-Produce Guardianship in Neighborhood Bars" |
| Richard K. Moule Jr., PhD | "Crime, Sporting Events, and Sports Venues in U.S. Cities" |
| Fawn Ngo, PhD | "Modeling Identity Theft Victimization” / “Modeling Identity Theft Victimization:
Resampling Imbalanced Data, Feature Selection, and Comparative Predictive Performance" "Tourist Victimization: Examining the Role of Guardianship, Control, and Travel Strategies" |
| Courtney Weber, doctoral student | "Lured and Hooked: Evaluating the Sophistication of Phishing Scams to Bait Users" |
| Jessica Marie Grosholz, PhD Sondra Fogel, PhD Sandra Stone, PhD |
"Coping with Reentry: Strategies Used by Older Formerly Incarcerated Individuals" |
| Jacquelyn Burckley, doctoral student | "Public Perceptions of Disability Accommodations in Court" |
| Amber Oderinde, PhD | "Strategies for Engaging Students in the Classroom" |
| Colby Valentine, PhD | "From the Field to the Classroom: Engaging Practitioners for Deeper Student Learning" |