Dr. Cheryl Lero Jonson is an Associate Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio. She has an active research agenda, publishing nearly 100 works addressing correctional theory, policy, and effectiveness, public opinion, and school violence. Her research has been published in Criminology, Criminology & Public Policy, Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, and Justice Quarterly. She is co-author of Correctional Theory: Context and Consequences (2017, 2nd edition, Sage Publications) and co-editor of The American Prison: Imaging a Different Future (2014, Sage Publications) and Downsizing Prisons (Special Issue, Victims & Offenders – vol. 10, issue 4). Furthermore, she has published in the highly prestigious journal, Crime and Justice: A Review of the Research, three times: a narrative overview of the history and effectiveness of reentry programs, a ballot-box review of the impact of imprisonment on recidivism, and a meta-analytic review of the effect of custodial sanctions on reoffending. Her recent work has examined the recruitment, training, and retention of correctional officers as well as the public’s perception of correctional officer work. This research is not only found in top-tier academic journals (Journal of Experimental Criminology; Criminal Justice and Behavior), but also practitioner-oriented (Corrections Today) and public facing outlets (The Dallas Morning News). Specially, Corrections1 (https://www.corrections1.com/), a Lexipol-sponsored online resource for correctional officers and administrators, invited Dr. Jonson and her co-author and PI Dr. Alexander L. Burton, to write a bi-monthly series highlighting their research findings for the website. Her expertise has been recognized in the field as well. Dr. Jonson was invited in 2023 to the closed CLA (Correctional Leaders Association) on the Hill meetings in Washington, DC to participate in discussions concerning correctional climate, recruitment, training, and retention. She was also elected Executive Counselor and Awards Committee Chair for the American Society of Criminology’s Division on Corrections and Sentencing for the 2021-2023 term. Finally, Dr. Jonson is an Inside Out Prison Exchange instructor. She has taught more than 15 courses that bring together 12 university students with 12 incarcerated individuals in two men’s and one women’s correctional facilities.
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