Cassia Spohn was named the incoming director of the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, which is part of the College of Public Programs on the Downtown campus.
Spohn, a foundation professor and director of the school’s graduate programs, will take over for the current director, Scott Decker, effective June 1.
Spohn said she hoped she would be as successful as Decker, who has been director for the past eight years.
“He has taken the program from a small department of criminal justice to a large and nationally recognized school of criminology and criminal justice, and my hope is that under my leadership, the school can continue on that upward trajectory,” she said. “I am very honored that the faculty and the deans have asked me to serve in this capacity, and I’m hoping I can meet their expectations.”
Under Decker’s leadership, the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice was ranked third in the nation for scholarly research done by its faculty.
The study, conducted by Florida State University’s Gary Kleck and University of Texas at Dallas assistant professor J.C. Barnes, looked at the number of scholarly articles published by faculty, as well as the prestige of the journals in which the articles were published.
The school beat many well-established programs, despite the fact that Decker started the program with the first Ph.D. class in 2008.
Decker will remain within the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice as a foundation professor.
Spohn said she has been very impressed by the students she has interacted with in the school.
“I’ve worked primarily with doctoral students and graduate students,” she said. “I find that they are incredibly motivated and bright and really come with a passion for learning. My interactions with the undergraduates have been similarly positive. We have a very diverse student body, and I think that brings something really very special to the classroom.”
Doctoral student Melinda Tasca has taken several of Spohn’s seminars as a graduate student and worked closely to publish a manuscript with Spohn. She said she is enthusiastic about the school’s decision to appoint Spohn.
“Cassia is just really devoted to students and devoted to the program; she is very personable, and everyone likes Cassia,” Tasca said. “I think it’s obviously very well-deserved, and I think the school is lucky to have someone like her.”
Eryn O’Neal, a doctoral student who has worked with Spohn for more than five years, said she agreed with Tasca that the appointment was well deserved.
“I am not at all surprised,” O’Neal said. “I think she more than deserves the position. She reflects kind of all that the department is aiming to pursue. She has a great publication record and she published in all of the journals that our department finds value in.”
O’Neal said there has been overwhelming support for Spohn as director from Ph.D. students especially.
“I know that everyone who I’ve independently spoken with is very happy the decision made by the department and students and faculty alike are very happy with the direction that we think the department will take now that she’s taking lead,” O’Neal said.
Assistant Professor Danielle Wallace said she was excited with the school’s pick and was looking forward to the next stage of the school with Spohn as director.
“She is a world-renowned scholar and one of the most highly publishing female scholars in our field,” she wrote in an email. “I hope in 30 years my academic record could come close to Cassia’s. She is inspiring, works on important issues of social justice and is a great leader for our department.”
Before joining ASU in 2006, Spohn served as the chair of the department of criminal justice at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. She also served as the director of the graduate program and vice chair of the department of criminal justice from 1993-2005. She was awarded the Faculty Achievement Award for Defining Edge Research in Social Sciences from ASU in 2013.
Contact the reporter at vmfernan@asu.edu.
