Latest News
Congratulations to Taylor Gonzales and Abby Hayes who successfully passed their Criminal Justice Systems Comprehensive Examination in January!
You are now ABD and Doctoral Candidates! Fantastic job to both of you and we look forward to seeing your dissertations get underway!
Doctoral candidate John Ursino was awarded the Helen Hansen Outstanding Graduate Student Award. Selection of the recipients of the Award is made by the UNO Graduate Council Scholarship/Fellowship Committee, and John’s academic and professional accomplishments earned him the award.
John will receive a plaque at the Student Honors Convocation in April 2026.
Congrats, John!
On December 11, 2025, Dr. Zachary Hamilton, Dr. Mark Foxall, and doctoral candidate John Ursino presented their findings from the Lancaster County Jail Evaluation to the Jail Executive Institute.
Six students from the Advancing Research in Corrections (ARC) Lab presented their research at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Criminology. Their work highlights innovative approaches to understanding risk assessment, correctional programming, and justice reform.
ARC Lab Presenters (alphabetical order):
Sadie Brewer: “The consistent pattern of youth needs: A latent profile analysis of 10 states’ assessment findings.” (with Dr. Zach Hamilton)
Taylor Gonzales: “Risk score comparison: Examining how risk and need scores shift during the first 18 months of reentry.” (with John Ursino and Dr. Zach Hamilton)
Abby Hayes: “Living in the box: Prisoner perceptions of restrictive housing conditions.” (with Drs. Jenn Tostlebe, David Pyrooz, and Ryan Labrecque)
Yujin Kim: “Police officers’ perceptions of drug-induced homicide laws: Evidence from Texas and implications for policy and practice.” (with Drs. Jonathan Reid and Ling Ren)
Naya Russell-Coprich: “Evaluating electronic monitoring programming at the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services.” (with Drs. Zach Hamilton and Jenn Tostlebe)
John Ursino: “Quantifying miscalibration: Estimating the impact of demographic differences on LS/CMI and ORAS accuracy.”
Congratulations to our ARC Lab students for their outstanding contributions to advancing evidence-based correctional and policing research!
During the Never Give Up (NGU) Transitional Living Program Fundraiser on November 4th, Dr. Jenn Tostlebe and doctoral student Taylor Gonzales presented on their collaborative partnership with NGU Program Director Shane Reilly. Together, they have developed an evaluation framework for the program — an important first step toward a comprehensive process and outcome evaluation. Supported by the Sherwood Foundation, this effort reflects a shared commitment to evidence-based practice, community engagement, and lasting reentry success. Taylor was also awarded GRACA funding to advance the process evaluation, which will form the foundation of her dissertation. For more information about the prisoner transitional living program, please visit Never Give Up Transitional Living.
Five members of the ARC lab (Sarah Al Falatah, Taylor Gonzales, Abigail Hayes, Yujin Kim, and John Ursino) received money from the Student Conference Travel Fund (SCTF) for the annual meeting of the American Society of Criminology (ASC). Their presentations collectively examine how health, risk assessment, correctional practices, and law enforcement perceptions shape criminal behavior, reentry outcomes, and justice system fairness.
Doctoral student Sarah Al Falatah received UNO Graduate Research and Creative Activity (GRACA) funding for her project, “Adverse childhood experiences and brain development in emerging adulthood” under the supervision of Dr. Jenn Tostlebe.
Doctoral student Abby Hayes received UNO Graduate Research and Creative Activity (GRACA) funding for her project, “Mixed methods assessment of restrictive housing conditions” under the supervision of Dr. Jenn Tostlebe.
Doctoral student Taylor Gonzales received UNO Graduate Research and Creative Activity (GRACA) funding for her project, “Process evaluation of a prisoner transitional living program for returning citizens” under the supervision of Dr. Jenn Tostlebe. This funding serves as the foundation for her dissertation work.
