New Faculty Profile:

Stephanie Lake
(Assistant Professor, Sociology Department)

A brief overview of your area of expertise, research and teaching.
My areas of expertise include criminology, criminal justice, and juvenile delinquency. More specifically: criminal homicide, gender and crime, and punishment policy. I wrote a dissertation entitled "Homicide: Gender Disparity in Sentencing in the Richmond Felony Court," which examined differential sentencing for male and female homicide defendants in Richmond, VA. I've taught the following classes at the University of Virginia and Adelphi: Criminology, Introduction to Sociology, Juvenile Delinquency, Crime and Punishment, Crime Prevention, and Introduction to Forensic Science. We're hoping to get a Criminal Justice Program up and running in the College in the next few years, which is one of the reasons for my hire at Adelphi.

My main area of research involves punishment practices for homicide defendants, but I've also done research with the Drug Courts and with the Prince William County PD regarding their juvenile curfew program.

Why did you come to Adelphi?
I had actually accepted a position at the University of Richmond when I got the call from Adelphi, but decided to come for the interview anyway. I was so impressed by the University's commitment to teaching, and to its faculty, as well as all the efforts made in the past few years to increase enrollment, curriculum development, etc. The bottom line was that Adelphi offered me the opportunity to come in, teach the courses I love in a relatively small school atmosphere, and to participate in the curriculum development of an entirely new program. It's very exciting to enter a program that's expanding or developing new branches, and so it was too good to pass up. I also knew that I wanted to return to NY at some point in the future... so here I am!

What has been your experience so far?
I absolutely love my job! Having taught at the University of Virginia (a large school) and Randolph-Macon College (a relatively small school in Virginia), I knew that the small school scenario was the way to go for me. The people here are SO friendly and helpful (which is a new experience for me.) I've gotten a lot of support... from my department, from the Dean, the Provost, the Faculty Center for Professional Excellence :) , the Registrar's Office, etc... and I look forward to working with these and other campus units in the years to come. Again, to sum up: friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful.

What do you wish to contribute? What do you feel strongly about in regards to teaching or your specialization?
Right now, my main focus in terms of contributing to the academic community here at Adelphi, is in the area of curriculum development. As I mentioned earlier, the provost, along with the sociology dept, ABLE, the Derner Institute, as well as various other related programs, are working together to create a solid and competitive Criminal Justice Program. As of now, I have a few students who are working on a Criminal Justice degree from an interdisciplinary major approach, but in the next few semesters, we hope to get an official major up and running. Very exciting to be on the ground floor of this.

I also am looking forward to continuing with my research on punishment practices and philosophy, particularly at the level of felony homicide.

What do you wish to impart to your students?
I feel very strongly about teaching students in my Introductory Sociology courses, as well as the Criminal -Justice -related courses, to think critically about what they read in the paper, see on the news, etc. Specifically looking at crime statistics, reports, initiatives, etc., coming out of the mass media, political campaigns, etc., I feel it's very important to instruct students on how to interpret all this information analytically and where to go for the "real scoop." In my Introductory course, I also feel it's important to get the students to develop their "sociological imagination," to see the world in a new light.