Big congrats to the new Doctor in the house

There’s a new doctor in the house! Congratulations to Dr. Sarah Lazarri, who recently completed her Ph.D. in social work and social research at Portland State University.

Sarah, who joined the faculty in the summer as an assistant professor of criminology, came to Heidelberg from southern California. Her research interests are in the areas of prison rehabilitation, prison education, family bonding during incarceration and family prison visitations.

For her dissertation, Sarah looked at “Supports From Inside Out: Exploring Whether Various Social Supports Assist in Reducing Prison Rule Violations.” She examined educational programs, drug and alcohol treatment, life skills classes, inmate-led support groups, visitations and phone calls with the premise that if rule violations can be reduced while people are incarcerated, they may be less likely to engage in rule- and law-violating behaviors when they are released from prison. However, the outcome of her research proved differently. Factors such as education, employment status and race impacted the degree of rule violations among inmates.

Sarah hopes to continue her research and involve students. “What is exciting is that there are so many directions for me to pursue,” she said. “For students interested in getting some experience with research, please don’t hesitate to reach out. I will be looking for you to work with me on future studies!”