The College of Social Sciences offers a broad and exciting range of majors, minors and certificates that prepare students to take their place in a rapidly changing world.
This semester, the College welcomes seven new faculty members that contribute to the continued success of four of our departments: Criminology, Women’s Studies, Africana Studies and Chicano and Latin American Studies.
To better introduce these new faces to the rest of the College, we caught up with our new faculty members for Q&As, which we will be sharing with you in the coming weeks.
The Department of Criminology welcomes three new faculty members: Marcus Shaw, Dr. Monica Summers and Dr. James Pitts.
Department of Criminology
Marcus Shaw joins the Department of Criminology as an assistant professor, coming to Fresno State from the University of California, Merced.
Shaw’s research revolves around the areas of intergenerational inequality, critical criminology, immigration and educational mobility. His current research uses multigenerational data to link the experience of incarceration in the first generation to the educational outcomes of the second generation. This research is supplemented with in‐depth interviews of those experiencing parental incarceration. Shaw currently teaches courses in juvenile delinquency and community-based corrections at Fresno State. He holds a B.A. in sociology from California State University, Stanislaus and an M.A. in sociology from the University of California, Merced. Shaw is now a doctoral candidate at the University of California, Merced and will be receiving his Ph.D. in sociology this fall.
Question: What are you most looking forward to here at Fresno State?
Answer: I was excited to stay in the Valley, yet be at a bigger school. I have lived in the Central Valley most of my life and received all of my education here. I have a long-lasting love for the residents of our great community and feel proud to stay here. So yeah, the larger campus was a big attraction. You will see me at the games and around enjoying everything we have to offer.
Q: How did you become involved in your specialty area?
A: I research mass incarceration due to witnessing so many people around me being incarcerated. I just didn’t think it was normal to have so many people incarcerated and I witnessed first-hand how children were also punished when a parent is taken into the criminal justice system. This led me to look at the social implications of mass incarceration in the post civil rights era, and to understand the social consequences of punitive practices.
Q: What will your distinctive background do to elevate the Criminology Department offerings here at Fresno State?
A: I think being a Central Valley native will help a lot. I want to get involved and start many programs for the community. I am already beginning to incorporate service learning into my courses and by next fall, I will have many of our great students out mentoring at the local high schools and elementary schools. I intend to do some great research here that can have a positive impact on the Central Valley.
Q: When are your office hours?
A: 10 a.m.-noon and 3-5 p.m. Mondays; 10 a.m.-noon Wednesdays
Q: What’s a fun fact that people might not know about you?
A: I lived in England for 10 years and played soccer in the English Premier League Youth Academy for Leeds United. I also have three big dogs that currently keep me active.
Q: Anything else you’d like to share?
A: I cannot express how welcomed I feel here. Everyone has been great and I am proud to serve the community as a representative of the Criminology Department here at Fresno State.
Dr. Monica Summers joins the Department of Criminology as an assistant professor, coming to Fresno State from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale.
Summers recently obtained her doctorate in criminology and criminal justice from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. Prior to her doctoral studies, she obtained an M.A. in criminology and criminal justice from the University of Missouri, St. Louis, and dual Bachelor’s degrees in criminal justice and legal studies from the University of Illinois, Springfield. Summers’ research revolves around corrections, which focuses on inmate experiences and community reentry. Her secondary research interests include gender, victimization and violence.
Question: What are you most looking forward to here at Fresno State?
Answer: First, I am grateful for the opportunity to live and work in California. I have wanted to move here since my first visit many years ago. Second, and more specific to Fresno State, I am looking forward to working in a collegial environment that is focused on student success. Thus far, I am overly impressed by the culture at Fresno State; faculty are provided a great deal of support, students are focused and ready to work and the range of opportunities available allow for continuous learning and collaboration.
Q: How did you become involved in your specialty area?
A: I became interested in corrections after working with an undergraduate professor. The more I studied corrections, the more fascinated I became. The United States incarcerates people at significantly higher rates than any other country, and once a person becomes incarcerated, they are largely “forgotten” by mainstream society. While common perceptions of inmates usually involve hardened, violent people, research suggests that is often not the situation. In my eyes, everyone is or can be “criminal” in a sense, and our opportunities and/or privilege are just two of numerous factors as to whether or not we are defined that way by society. Perhaps most importantly, more than 90% of inmates will rejoin society, making the assessment of inmates’ experiences and the transition back to communities a worthy endeavor.
My secondary interests also formed through studying incarceration. Women have different pathways to criminality, which often involve domestic and/or sexual victimization. I worked as a victim advocate for victims of domestic violence/sexual assault for two years, and it became clear that these crimes have particularly devastating emotional consequences. While the impact of these crimes can be debilitating for victims, both remain difficult to pursue within the realm of the criminal justice system, adding “insult to injury.”
Q: What will your distinctive background do to elevate the Criminology Department offerings here at Fresno State?
A: Along with the other two new faculty members hired this year, Dr. James Pitts and Marcus Shaw, the Criminology Department now has a stronger corrections option. With the expertise of Dr. Emma Hughes and Dr. Keith Clement, I believe that we will provide students with a comprehensive understanding of corrections, along with an increased impact on evidence-based correctional practices in the Central Valley.
Q: When are your office hours?
A: 5-6 p.m. Tuesdays; 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Thursdays
Dr. James Pitts joins the Department of Criminology as an assistant professor, coming to Fresno State from The University of Southern Mississippi.
Pitts earned his Ph.D. in criminal justice from the University of Southern Mississippi in August, 2017 and also holds an M.A. and a B.A. in political science. His teaching interests include institutional corrections, administration of justice, ethnic and gender issues in criminal justice, research methods and criminological theory. Prior to receiving his Ph.D., Pitts has authored and published numerous articles on the topics of supermax prisons, judicial decision making, African American prison gangs and prison classification systems. His current research examines the effectiveness of interest groups in reforming the prison system using litigation. He has worked previously as a paralegal with the Mississippi Center for Legal Services assisting low income families with their legal needs. In addition to teaching and research, Pitts is passionate about the opportunity to mentor students by being committed to their professional development. Pitts is a promising addition to the faculty at Fresno State University and is excited about the chance to further enhance the image of both the Department of Criminology and the university, as well.
Question: What are you most looking forward to here at Fresno State?
Answer: I am looking forward to the opportunity to teach a culturally and economically diverse group of students. The future of the criminal justice system depends on students being encouraged to search for new, innovative solutions to current issues. As such, I welcome the chance to teach them about the shortcomings of previous generations in hopes that they will be better equipped to address multifaceted crime problems in the future.
Q: How did you become involved in your specialty area?
A: I began to study corrections (prison and jails) due to the overwhelming disparities associated with minorities in the criminal justice system. I hope to encourage others to consider the humanity of inmates in hopes that it will lead to a society that is more forgiving, especially as it pertains to non-violent offenders.
Q: What will your distinctive background do to elevate the Criminology Department offerings here at Fresno State?
A: My background will elevate the Department of Criminology by providing a unique perspective that offers a more balanced approach inclusive of not only experiences of law enforcement personnel and victims, but also of criminal offenders. In doing so, I hope that my approach to teaching criminology is more comprehensive and allows students to see the “big picture” of how the administration of justice affects the larger society.
Q: When are your office hours?
A: 10-11 a.m. MWF
Q: What’s a fun fact that people might not know about you?
A: I worked as a musician (electric bass) as employment during graduate school. Occasionally, I still contribute to the local music scene by volunteering at church and other open mic jazz performances as a freelance musician.
Q: Anything else you’d like to share?
A: I am passionate about social justice and equality. As such, I often illustrate this passion by writing and working to restore the humanity of inmates and other non-incarcerated offenders. Social support is important to improve the world around us. As such, it is also important to empower others (especially students) through encouragement. Doing so will hopefully contribute to a better tomorrow for us all.
Fresno State College of Social Sciences 