College of Justice and Safety

Correctional & Juvenile Justice Studies

Faculty Profiles

Cherie Dawson-Edwards
Dr. Cherie Dawson Edwards is an Assistant Professor of Correctional and Juvenile Justice Studies. Dr. Edwards has a Ph.D. in Public Policy and Administration from Virginia Commonwealth University. In addition, she holds bachelor’s degrees in Sociology and Journalism from Western Kentucky University and a MS in Justice Administration from the University of Louisville where her research concentration was racial profiling. During her doctoral studies she accepted a teaching position at Virginia State University (VSU) in Petersburg, Virginia in 2002. Since then she has taught a variety of criminal justice courses, but her research and teaching interests center on the intersection of public policy and criminal justice with a specific focus on the field of corrections. In addition to a career in teaching, Dr. Edwards has held positions in probation and victim services.

Dr. Edwards teaches the following courses online at Eastern Kentucky University: Foundations of Correctional Practice, Diversity in Corrections and Juvenile Justice, and Community Corrections
Betsy Matthews
Dr. Betsy Matthews is an Associate Professor in the Department of Correctional and Juvenile Justice Studies. Dr. Matthews joined the faculty in 1999 and received her Ph.D. in criminal justice from the University of Cincinnati in 2003. Dr. Matthews has a blend of practical and academic experience. She began her career as a child care worker in a residential treatment facility for behaviorally disordered adolescents before moving into an adult probation officer position in Greene County, Ohio. After earning her masters degree, Dr. Matthews accepted a position with the American Probation and Parole Association serving as a research associate on federally funded grant projects.
Dr. Matthews’ primary areas of focus are community corrections and correctional rehabilitation. She has published several articles and book chapters on both of these issues. She also coordinates the cooperative education program and serves as the advisor for the Correctional & Juvenile Justice Studies Student Association.  Dr. Betsy Matthews is an Associate Professor in the Department of Correctional and Juvenile Justice Studies. Dr. Matthews joined the faculty in 1999 and received her Ph.D. in criminal justice from the University of Cincinnati in 2003. Dr. Matthews has a blend of practical and academic experience. She began her career as a child care worker in a residential treatment facility for behaviorally disordered adolescents before moving into an adult probation officer position in Greene County, Ohio. After earning her masters degree, Dr. Matthews accepted a position with the American Probation and Parole Association serving as a research associate on federally funded grant projects.
Dr. Matthews’ primary areas of focus are community corrections, correctional rehabilitation for adult and juvenile offenders, and working effectively with girls in the juvenile justice system. She has published several articles and book chapters on these issues. She teaches a variety of correctional and juvenile justice courses and serves as the advisor for the Correctional & Juvenile Justice Studies Student Association.
 
Kevin Minor, Department Chair
Dr. Kevin I. Minor is Professor and Chair of the Department of Correctional and Juvenile Justice Studies. He holds a B.S. degree from Indiana State University in Psychology and Criminology, a M.S. from Emporia State University in Correctional Psychology, and a Ph.D. in Sociology/Criminology from Western Michigan University. Dr. Minor has taught at EKU since 1992. His areas of professional interest are institutional and community corrections, criminological theory, juvenile delinquency and justice, and evaluation research. He has published a variety of books, articles, book chapters and technical reports in these areas and he served as editor of the Kentucky Justice & Safety Research Bulletin from 1998-2001.
Rick Ruddell, Associate Professor and Graduate Program Director
Rick Ruddell is Associate Professor and Graduate Program Director. Prior to his academic career, Dr. Ruddell had extensive experience as a supervisor and manager within the Department of Corrections and Public Safety in Saskatchewan, Canada, working in three juvenile correctional facilities and also working in juvenile probation. Prior to his appointment at Eastern Kentucky University Rick Ruddell served as Associate Professor of Political Science at the California State University, Chico. Rick Ruddell earned his Ph.D. at the University of Missouri – St. Louis, a Master of Criminal Justice (Corrections specialty) from New Mexico State University and has Bachelor’s degrees in Social Work (University of Regina) and Sociology (University of Saskatchewan). His research has been published in 30 scholarly articles, and focuses upon corrections and criminal justice policy. Rick Ruddell is the co-author of Making Sense of Criminal Justice (Oxford University Press) author of America Behind Bars: Trends in Imprisonment, 1950 to 2000 (LFB Scholarly Publications) and co-editor of Issues in Correctional Health (Newgate Press).
 
Irina Soderstrom
Dr. Irina R. Soderstrom is an Associate Professor in the Department of Correctional and Juvenile Justice Studies. She received her B.A. in Sociology/Pre-Law at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign in 1987. She received her M.S. in Administration of Justice in 1990, and her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology/Statistics and Measurement in 1997 from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. Her primary teaching interests include statistics, research methods and research seminar courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Her primary research focus is in program evaluation and she has conducted considerable evaluative research on parole programs, boot camps, correctional industries, teen courts and school safety.
James Wells
Dr. James B. Wells, a Professor in the Department of Correctional and Juvenile Justice Studies, received his Ph.D. in Research, Measurement, and Statistics from Georgia State University. Dr. Wells is the director of the Center for Criminal Justice Education and Research (CCJER) in EKU’s College of Justice and Safety. The CCJER is responsible for providing education, training, consultation, research, program development and evaluation services for a broad range of private and public organizations at all levels of government. His main areas of interest are justice and safety agency related program evaluation research and the improvement of criminal justice training. Dr. Wells’ most recent area of research pertains to various issues surrounding the Prison Rape Legislation Act that was recently signed into law. He has presented and published papers in both criminal justice and education related areas and has authored computer assisted instruction software. His articles have appeared in Crime and Delinquency, the Journal of Juvenile Justice & Detention Services, Federal Probation, and the Journal of School Violence.