ALLISON M. COTTON
Curriculum Vita
May 4, 2016
ADDRESSES
Work:Metropolitan State University of Denver
Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology
Campus Box 10, P.O. Box173362
Denver, CO 80217-3362
CURRENT POSITION
Professor
Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology
Metropolitan State University of Denver
EDUCATION
Ph.D.(2002)University of Colorado, Boulder. Sociology.
Dissertation Title: Who Is This Defendant?: A Study of Capital Punishment and the Effort to Attribute Personality
M.A.(1995)HowardUniversity, Washington, D.C. Sociology.
Thesis Title: What is the Relationship between Death Anxiety and Engagement in Lethal Behavior by African-American Students?
B.A.(1991)University of Colorado, Boulder. Sociology.
EMPLOYMENT
2005-2015Professor (Promotion to Full Professor awarded March 2015)
Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology
Metropolitan State University of Denver
Courses taught: Juvenile Justice;Criminal Justice and the Social Structure; Introduction to the Criminal Justice System; Women and Violence;Crime, Criminal Justice and the Media, Punishment and Society, and the Female Offender
2003-2005Assistant Professor
Division of Social Work, Behavioral and Political Sciences
PrairieViewA&MUniversity
Courses taught: General Sociology; Sociology of Minorities; Sociology of Drug Enforcement; Sociology of Drug Use and Abuse; Sociology of Probation and Parole; Juvenile Delinquency (Graduate level); Social Stratification; Social Inequality (Graduate Level)
2002-2008Instructor/Lecturer/Adjunct Professor
University of Colorado, Department of Sociology
Courses taught: Introduction to Sociology; Deviance in the U.S.; U.S. Race and Ethnic Relations; Sex and Gender I and II
2001-2002Graduate Teaching Instructor (GPTI)
University of Colorado, Department of Sociology
Courses taught: Deviance; U.S. Race and Ethnic Relations
2001 (Summer)Instructor, Department of Sociology
ArapahoeCommunity College; Littleton, Colorado
Course taught: Introduction to Sociology I
2000Graduate Teaching Instructor (GPTI)
University of Colorado, Department of Sociology
Courses taught: U.S. Criminal Justice System; Deviance
1999 Instructor, Department of Sociology
Front RangeCommunity College, Westminster, Colorado
Courses taught: Introduction to Sociology I & II
1997-1998Director, Institutional Research and Evaluation
Community College of Aurora, Colorado
Responsible for the administration of institutional surveys; project management; data analysis and reporting
1997-1998Instructor, Department of Sociology
MetropolitanStateCollege of Denver, Colorado
Courses taught: Race, Gender & Ethnic Groups; Sociology of Death & Dying; Introduction to Sociology
1996-1998Instructor, Department of Sociology
Community College of Aurora, Colorado
Courses taught: Introduction to Sociology I & II; Sociology
of Marriage and Family
PUBLICATIONS
Books
2014Barak, G., Leighton, P., Cotton, A., Class, Race Gender & Crime: The Social Realities of Justice in America. 4th ed. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.: Lanham, MD. July 2014.
2008Cotton, Allison. Effigy: Images of Capital Defendants. Lexington Books (a Division of Rowman & Littlefield Publishers): Lanham, MD. July 28, 2008.
Hillary Potter and Allison Cotton. Racialized Perceptions of Crime. New York University Press: NY. (Contracted).
Book Chapter
2007Cotton, Allison. “Stipulations: A Typology of Citizenship in the United States after Hurricane Katrina”. In Hillary Potter (Ed.), Racing the Storm: Racial
Implications and Lessons Learned from Hurricane Katrina. Lexington Books (a Division of Rowman & Littlefield Publishers): Lanham, MD.
Refereed Publications
2013Arrested Justice: Black Women, Violence, and America’s Prison Nation. Critical Criminology: An International Journal. New York University Press: NY. August 15, 2013. DOI 10.1007/s10612-013-9210-7.
1996-97Cotton, Allison. “Is There a Relationship Between Death Anxiety and Engagement in Lethal Behavior Among African-American Students?” in Omega: Journal of Death and Dying34 (3): 233-245.
Reprinted in Introductory Sociology Custom Edition for Prairie View A&M University by James M. Henslin (compiled by Dr. Allison M. Cotton). 2004. ISBN 0-536-84286-8.
Non-refereed Publications
2016Cotton, Allison. “Eunice Hunton Carter.” In Frances Bernat (Ed.) Encyclopedia of Women and Crime. Wiley-Blackwell Publications.
2011Cotton, Allison. “Martin Luther King.” In Wilbur Miller (Ed.) Social History of Crime and Punishment in America. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
2009Cotton, Allison and Rhonda Ntepp. “Media Portrayals of African Americans.” In Helen Taylor Greene and Shaun L. Gabbidon (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Race and Crime. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
2007Cotton, Allison. “Expert Witnesses.” In Gregg Barak (Ed.) Controversies in Criminal Justice. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
2007Cotton, Allison. “Eye Witness Testimony.” In Gregg Barak (Ed.) Controversies in Criminal Justice. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press
2006Cotton, Allison. “Play the Race Card For Pete’s Sake!” Race and Justice Scholar. American Society of Criminology Newsletter. April edition.
2005Cotton, Allison. “Death Row Attorneys”. Criminal Justice in the U.S. Salem Press: Pasadena, CA.
2005Cotton, Allison. “Defendants”. Criminal Justice in the U.S. Salem Press: Pasadena, CA.
PRESENTATIONS
Refereed
2016 (Mar)“Beyond Body Cameras: Are We Policing Race or Policing Crime?” Chair/Moderator. Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences. Denver, Colorado.
2015 (Nov)“Stereotypical Images of Black Women in the Media: The Impact on Jurors.” Panel Discussant. American Society of Criminology. Washington, D.C.
2015 (Nov)“DWC Organized Student-Meets-Expert: Activism in the Classroom: Putting Theory into Practice.” American Society of Criminology. Washington, D.C.
2013 (Mar)“Faculty of Color Working Towards Tenure.” Open Seminar. Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences meeting. Dallas, TX.
2008 (Nov)“Deviant Women in Egypt.” Poster session presentation at the American Society of Criminology meeting. St. Louis, MO.
2007 (Nov)“Who’s Class Is It?: Student Evaluations Based on Valuations of Race, Class, and Gender.” Paper presented at the American Society of Criminology meeting. Atlanta, GA.
2006 (June)“Gaining Agency in the Academy.” Panel discussant at the National Women’s Studies Association Conference. Oakland, California.
2006 (April)“Studies in the Intersection of Race and the Media.” Paper presented at the New Directions in Race and Ethnicity Conference. Boulder, Colorado.
2005 (March)“Panhandling the Death Penalty: What Money Buys.” Paper presented at the Southwestern Social Science Association meeting. New Orleans, LA.
2003 (Nov)“Deviant Behavior: Ethnography of a Death Penalty Trial.” Paper presented at the American Society of Criminology meeting. Denver, Colorado.
1998“The Lethality of Staying in an Abusive Relationship versus the Lethality of Leaving One.” Paper presented at the Society for Applied Sociology meeting. Denver, Colorado.
Non-refereed
2012 (Mar)Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences meeting. “Sustaining Justice through Standards for Court Ordered Domestic Violence Offenders” Roundtable participant. I was invited to discuss Colorado’s policies related to treatment of domestic violence offenders. The meeting was held in New York City.
2012American Society of Criminology meeting. “Author Meets Critic: Race and Justice: Wrongful Convictions of African American Men by Marvin D. Free, Jr., and Mitch Ruesink” I was invited to serve as a critic for this book at the ASC meeting in Chicago, IL.
2011, 2012American Society of Criminology meeting. “Wrongful Convictions: Stereotypical Patterns of Injustice and other Legal Issues”. I chairedthese roundtable discussions in Washington, D.C. and in Chicago, IL.
2011 (Nov)American Society of Criminology meeting. I served as a panel discussant for the roundtable entitled “Teaching Sensitive Topics: Gender, Race, and Class in the Criminal Justice Curriculum. This is the second time that I participated in this roundtable series and the discussion has enhanced my lectures in the Female Offender, Criminal Justice and the Social Structure, and Women and Violence courses that I teach. Washington, D.C.
2009 (Mar)Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences meeting. Moderated a roundtable titled “Minority Female Abductions in the Media” and participated as a discussant in a roundtable titled “Women and Serial Murder”. Boston, MA.
2009 (Feb)“Deviant Women in Egypt”. School of Professional Studies Colloquia Series. Metropolitan State College of Denver. Denver, CO.
1997 “The Community College Task”. Roundtable discussant. American Sociological Association meeting. New York, New York.
RESEARCH AND GRANTS
2009International Faculty Professional Development Seminar
Council on International Educational Exchanges (CIEE)
Director: Dr. Akbarali Thobani
Project Description:I attended the seminar entitled “South Africa: Building a Multi-racial, Multi-cultural Society”, which began in Cape Town, South Africa on May 31, 2009 and concluded in Pretoria, South Africa on June 10, 2009.
2008Fulbright-Hays Scholarship to Egypt
The Fulbright-Hays Seminars Abroad Program
Director/Grantee: Dr. Akbarali Thobani
Project Description: I spent 5 weeks in Egypt during the summer of 2008interviewing women about the practice ofFemale Circumcision. This is a banned practice, but circumcisions are still performed in Egypt.
2005Fulbright-Hays Scholarship to China
The Fulbright-Hays Seminars Abroad Program
Director/Grantee: Dr. Jian-Yue Chen
Project Description: I spent 4 weeks in China in the summer of 2005. My project focused on the relationship between massive structures (i.e. palaces and temples) and human representations of power and strength in Chinese culture.
CONFERENCES
2015 (Mar)Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences. Orlando, FL. I attended this conference as an award presenter and as incoming Deputy Affirmative Action Chair of ACJS 2015-2017.
2014 (Feb)Western Society of Criminology conference. Honolulu, Hawaii. I attended this conference to promote my book called “Class, Race, Gender & Crime: The Social Realities of Justice in America.” 4th edition. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
2013 (Nov)American Society of Criminology meeting. Atlanta, GA. I attended this conference while on sabbatical to promote my upcoming co-authored book called “Class, Race, Gender & Crime: The Social Realities of Justice in America”. Both of my co-authors, Paul Leighton and Gregg Barak are attending the conference as well.
2011 (Apr)International Innocence Network Conference. Cincinnati, OH. Attended the conference for professional development. Wrongful convictions is a new area of research and teaching interest for me. A roundtable discussion proposal on wrongful convictions (which I proposed for the American Society of Criminology meeting in November 2011) has been accepted. The discussion at ASC will focus on topics that were presented at the Innocence Network conference. I am also scheduled to present what I learned at the conference at a brown-bag discussion for the SPS Colloquia Series in the Fall of 2011 at Metro State.
2011 (Nov)American Society of Criminology Meeting. Toronto, Canada. Served on the program planning committee by helping to organize panels for the conference on the topic of “Female Offenders”. Also served as a member of the Student Awards committee. I did not attend the meeting.
2010 (Oct)Facing the Divides: Diversity, Learning and Pathways to Inclusive Excellence. Houston, TX. Attended the conference sponsored by AAC&U on a travel grant from the Center for Faculty Development at Metro State.I also participated in a brown-bag discussion hosted by the Center for Faculty Development at Metro State about the conferenceon April 11, 2011. Participation in the brown-bag discussion was required by the grant.
2010, 2011Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS) Meeting. San Diego, CA. Helped organize and chaired panels onthe topics of “Females and Homicides”, “Female Offenders”, and “Female Victims” as a member of the ACJS Annual ConferencePlanning Committee.
2009, 2010Annual Conference on the First Year Expericnce. Orlando, FL and Denver, CO. Attended the conference as a faculty member teaching for the First Year Success Program (FYS) at Metro State. Participated in pre-conference activities as a way to prepare forteaching first year students in the Fall of 2009.
2008 (March)Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS) Meeting. Cincinnati, OH. Elected by the CJCdepartment to attend the conference to obtain information on the ACJScertification process.
2006 (Nov)Punishment: The U.S. Record. The New School for Public Research. New York City, New York. The CJC Department sponsored me to attend this conference in anticipation of developing a new course called “Punishment and Society”. I created the course, CJC 4230, in the Fall of 2008and it was turned into a regular course in 2010.
2006 (Nov) American Society of Criminology (ASC) Meeting. Los Angeles, California. Participated as co-chair of theCriminal Justice and Criminology Department curriculum committee to developideas about new courses. Since then, I have developed and/or reactivated the following new courses: Crime, Criminal Justice and the Media (CJC 4260), Women and Violence (405J), Punishment and Society (CJC 3470), and the Female Offender (CJC 4230).
1998Colorado Women of Color in Higher Education Conference. Colorado Springs, Colorado in 1998.Attended workshops about how to succeed in academia.
1997Colorado Women of Color in Higher Education Conference. Fort Collins,Colorado.Attended workshops about how to succeed in academia.
1997Colorado Two-year/Four-year Faculty Conference. Littleton, Colorado.Attended workshops about how to succeed in academia.
OTHER SCHOLARLY ACTIVITIES
Book Reviews
2011Introduction to Criminal Justice. Nicole Hendrix and James A. Inciardi. McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
2011Juvenile Delinquency: Bridging Theory to Practice. McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
Media Appearances
2016“A Sentenced Life” Rocky Mountain PBS Documentary aired on May 20, 2016 at 7:30pm. I was interviewed as part of this multiple-part series on Race and Justice in Colorado. In it, I explained how racism/racial profiling in policing and corrections in Colorado influences minority communities on a daily basis. The interview was taped on January 13, 2016. The trailer for the documentary can be viewed here: race.rmpbs.org/justice
2015Channel 7 News – Denver
I was interviewed on camera about the fetal abduction that occurred in Denver: A woman was lured to a home and the occupant cut the unborn baby out of her womb. The interview aired on Thursday, March 19, 2015 during the 10:00pm broadcast.
SERVICE
Department
2010-2012Program Review Committee
Position: Member
Accomplishments: The CJC department underwent an external review of the program in 2011. The committee met regularly to do an internal audit of the program during the 2010-11 AY and then provided guidance and a full-length written narrative to the college and external reviewer during the 2011-12 AY. I served as the final editor of the written report, pulling all written parts submitted by other members of the committee together in one 50-page narrative. I attended all meetings of the committee, met with the reviewer, and I will continue to help make any recommended improvements to the program.
2011-2012Faculty Evaluation Guidelines Committee
Position: Member
Accomplishments: This committee has been formed to re-do the faculty evaluation standards of the department in accordance with new goals and objectives set forth by the college. A draft of the new guidelines will be submitted in December 2011.
2009-PresentRTP Committee
Position: Chair 2009-2014, 2015-16
Accomplishments: As chair of the committee, I have overseen the review of the fourth/third year dossiers for four members of the CJC faculty and the post-tenure review dossiers for three senior faculty members. Oversight activities included meeting with the RTP Committee, which has consisted of both internal and external tenured facultymembers, to evaluate and discuss materials submitted through dossier/digital measures and then drafting, editing, circulating, and finalizing the committee’sevaluation letters.
2007-2009Curriculum Committee
Position: Co-chair (2007-08), Member (2006, 2008, 2009)
Accomplishments: Helped to win approval of a new CJC curriculum package that meets ACJS certification requirements. Developed several new courses that have not previously been offered at MSCD including CJC 4260, 405S, and CJC 405J. Reactivated one old course that had not been taught at MSCD for several years CJC 4230.
2007-2008Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences
Position: Elected - CJC Departmental Representative
Accomplishments: I helped to procure an institutional dues-paying membership in this organization. As such, we are privy to the certification process which will eventually certify the CJC program at MSCD. I have attended all of the ACJS meetings since my election to this position and I have brought back information from the conferences regarding certification and have presented that information to the CJC faculty.
2006-PresentSearch Committee
Position: Chair (2007-2008 and 2014), Co-chair (2009-2010), Member (2010-Pres)
Accomplishments: Leadand/or actively participated in the national search hiring processes for tenure-track faculty in the CJC Department. As a result, I was directly involved with the hiring of Dr. Noah Fritz, Dr. Jeff London, Dr. Henry Jackson, Dr. Desire Anastasia, Dr. Denise Mowder, Dr. Jennifer Bradford, and Dr. Andrea Borrego.
2006-2007Strategic Planning Committee
Position: Member
Accomplishments: The committee reviewed and made suggestions for updating the CJC department strategic plan in accordance with ACJS certification requirements and school/college policy.
2006-2008Adjunct Faculty Committee
Position: Chair
Accomplishments: Organized and administered adjunct faculty orientations at the beginning of each Fall semester providing information about office space, grading policies, class cancellation policy, smart classrooms and other pertinent information.
2006-2009Acting Chair of the CJC Department (12/2008, 5/2007, 12/2007, 5/2006, 9/2009)
Accomplishments: I successfully managed the CJC department during brief absences of the regular department chair insuring that all grades were submitted on time at the end of the semester and that classes were properly enrolled at the beginning of the semester. I also handed out diplomas on the podium during commencement.
School
2009-2010SPS Colloquia Committee
Position: Member
Accomplishment: This committee reviews proposals for colloquia presentations during the 2009-10 AY. We have been asked to select 6-7 presentation proposals for “brown-bag” meetings to be held during the lunch hour throughout the year. The colloquia series isdesigned to showcase the various expertise of the SPS faculty to the campus community.
2009-2012,SPS Recruitment and Retention Committee
2015-PresentPosition: Search and Training Subcommittee
Accomplishments: The committee meets regularly to discuss and provide mentorship to new faculty. I have participated in sponsored events such as the welcome reception at the beginning of the semester and I have helped to assemble the welcome guide for new SPS faculty.
2008Equity Committee
Position: SPS Faculty Senate Representative
Accomplishment: I was elected to serve as an SPS Faculty Senate representative to the college equity committee. The purpose of the committee was to explore issues related to pay equity at Metro State.
2006-2007SPS Dean’s Mentoring Group
Position: New Faculty Mentor
Accomplishment: I attended all of the required mentoring training sessions and meetings of the 2006-07 AY. I provided advice and council to new faculty member, Dr. Noah Fritz, during the 2006-07 AY.
2005-2006High-Risk Youth Advisory Council
Position: Member
Accomplishment: I was asked to serve as the CJC department representative on this advisory council. This council met periodically during the 2005-06 AY to discuss how educators and practitioners can better serve theneeds of students, clients, and the community.
University
2011-PresentMinority Faculty Recruitment
Position: Recruiter
Goal: To help to recruit qualified minority Ph.D.s/candidates from accredited doctoral programs in the U.S. to thefaculty at MSU Denver.