Faculty

Dr. Elizabeth K. Brown

Professor
College of Arts & Sciences – Criminology & Criminal Justice

Email:  ebrown@niagara.edu
Phone:  (716) 286-8092
Office Location:  Timon 101
Office Hours:  Spring 2010: M. 12pm-4pm; T. 11:15pm-12:15pm; Th. 11:15pm-12:15pm

Bio

Dr. Brown grew up overseas (Africa, Asia) and graduated from high school in Amherst, MA. She graduated summa cum laude from Tufts University with a B.A. in Psychology in 2000. She went on to earn a Ph.D. in Criminal Justice from the School of Criminal Justice, University at Albany in the spring of 2009. She was happy to join the excellent faculty at Niagara University in the fall of 2009.

Focus of Teaching

In the spring 2010 semester, Dr. Brown is teaching courses on American Criminal Courts (undergraduate) and the Politics of Punishment (graduate). She has previously taught Punishment and Corrections (undergraduate) and hopes to develop courses on comparative criminal justice issues.

Current Research

Dr. Brown’s research focuses on social and political constructions of crime, the legitimacy of punishment, public defense systems, and the roles of public opinion in American penal policymaking:

Brown, Elizabeth K. (2009). Public Opinion and Penal Policymaking: An Examination of Constructions, Assessments, and Uses of Public Opinion by Political Actors in New York State. Ph.D. Dissertation, School of Criminal Justice, University at Albany.

Brown, Elizabeth K. (2006). “The dog that did not bark: Punitive social views and the professional middle classes.” Punishment & Society, 8 (3): 287-312.

Acker, James R., Brown, Elizabeth K., & Englebrecht, Christine M. (2004; reprinted 2007). “The Scottsboro Boys’ Trials: Black Men as ‘Racial Scapegoats.’” In F. Bailey & S. Chermak (Eds.), Famous American Crimes and Trials: Vol. 4. Crime, Media, and Popular Culture. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishing, 147-168.

Current Involvement

Dr. Brown is a member of the American Society of Criminology (ASC) and the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS). In 2009-2010 she has served on the Niagara University Fulbright committee.