Scholar Helps Fight Crime With Violence Prevention Research

Eric Jefferis is an associate professor of social and behavioral sciences in the College of Public Health. His research focuses on intentional injury, violence prevention and program evaluation.

Jefferis has served as principle or co-principle investigator on funded research projects totaling nearly $3 million and has authored numerous research articles and reports. Most recently, he was awarded $472,000 in grant funding from the U.S. Department of Justice for a collaborative project with colleagues in the College of Arts and Science’s geography and sociology departments. They are investigating offender decision-making using geographic information system (GIS) mapping techniques, spatial videos and face-to-face interview with ex-offenders, community leaders, police and others in selected urban areas of Northeast Ohio.

Jefferis is a research partner of the Northern Ohio Violent Crime Consortium, which covers the eight largest cities in the region. He also has served as a research fellow at Kent State’s Institute for the Study and Prevention of Violence. Prior to joining the university, Jefferis was a social science analyst at the National Institute of Justice, the research, evaluation and development arm of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Jefferis holds a Bachelor of Science in Administration of Criminal Justice from Pennsylvania State University, a Master of Art in Criminal Justice from Radford University and a Ph.D. in Criminal Justice from the University of Cincinnati.

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About Kent State’s Scholar of the Month

Kent State’s Scholar of the Month recognizes faculty researchers and scholars whose recent work has had an important impact on their professional fields and has brought exposure to the university. Each month, a different college will have the opportunity to nominate a researcher/scholar for this recognition. There is also a month when a faculty member from the Regional Campuses will be featured.

The selection process is in the hands of the dean and his or her colleagues and faculty. Hence, this is recognition by the person’s college colleagues that is then taken up by the university. The deans communicate the person’s name to the Division of Research and Sponsored Programs for recognition as Scholar of the Month.