Dena Hanley joined the faculty at the University of Akron in fall of 2002. Her research interests include various aspects of the criminal justice system, specifically community corrections, prisons, and policy development. She teaches both the undergraduate and graduate courses in research methods (Introduction to Political Research and Scope and Theory of Political Science, respectively). In addition, she teaches classes that focus on the administration of prisons, management of probation and parole, as well as issues of violence and justice in the United States. Her teaching philosophy revolves around bringing the real world into the classroom and providing students with a practical overview of the criminal justice system and its role in the political realm.
Dr. Hanley’s research interests involve the interaction between appropriate treatment and service delivery to offenders and recidivism rates. Other interests include the portrayal of crime and justice in the media, police use of force, and technology in the criminal justice system. Additionally, she is working with the Northern District of Ohio’s United States Attorney and the Institute for the Study and Prevention of Violence at Kent State University in developing strategies and evaluation methodologies for various community justice initiatives in Northeastern Ohio.
Dr. Hanley received her Ph.D. in criminal justice from the University of Cincinnati in 2002. She was previously employed at the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency (CSOSA), under the U.S. Department of Justice, which was responsible for probation and parole in the District of Columbia. She also worked for the American Prosecutors Research Institute in Alexandria, Virginia and Talbert House, Inc. in Cincinnati, Ohio.
