This academic year we have invited two new faculty members to become a part of the HSS community. Dr. Tao Dumas (Political Science) and Dr. David Mazeika (Criminology) have some thoughts to share with their coworkers and students to give some background on what topics they study and why they chose to study them.
Dr. Mazeika, who received his PhD from the University of Maryland, College Park in Criminology and Criminal Justice, focuses his studies, in part, on data-driven decision making among juvenile and criminal justice practitioners.
“I encourage my students by discussing the real world applications of criminology,” said Dr. Mazeika. “I marry the academic and practitioner aspects of the field to demonstrate how the two can and should co-exist to improve juvenile and criminal justice outcomes.”
Dr. Dumas, who obtained her Masters and PhD in Political Science from Louisiana State University, studies the relationships between social and political factors and the outcomes present in the state and local civil court system.
“My courses offer students the opportunity to engage in legal and social science research, actively discuss and debate many of the critical political and social issues of the day, and engage in active learning activities,” explains Dr. Dumas. “I hope that my classes and research will provide students with a greater understanding of legal and social science research and greater appreciation for the role of courts in American politics.”
Dr. Dumas also claims to be seeking undergraduate students for future research projects, as she has presented research with an undergraduate student before and wishes to replicate the experience.