Interactions - Spring 2025

Department of Sociology and Criminology

Interactions

Welcome to the spring 2025 edition of Interactions! We're pleased to share the latest updates on student achievements and faculty endeavors within the Department of Sociology and Criminology at Villanova University.

Student News

Student Spotlights

Emily Robinson ’25 CLAS reflects on the interplay of her majors in Art History and Sociology and how a sociological mindset complimented her art history-aligned tasks during an internship at the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia. She believes the flexibility, amenability and tangibility of majoring in sociology has created a stronger base to approach academia in an interdisciplinary light.

Anthony Miller ’27 CLAS discusses his internship experience at the Bergen County Superior Court in New Jersey and how it complimented the classes he took as a Criminology major. Anthony believes the courses he has taken, along with his internship, have strengthened his understanding of justice institutions and will prepare him for a potential future role in the legal system.

Faculty News

Faculty Retirements

Tom Arvanites, PhD, has announced his retirement at the end of the 2024-2025 academic year. Dr. Arvanites joined our department in 1984 as a part-time faculty member and was hired as a full-time professor in 1987. He served as a CLAS advisor from 1992-2001, department chair from 2001-2012 and 2020-2022, and was the Criminology program director for several years. He loved working with and advising students, and his door was always open to anyone who stopped by.

Dr. Arvanites was also a prominent supporter of the Villanova Program at SCI-Graterford (now SCI-Phoenix). He was appointed director in 2010 after the position was vacated and served in that position from 2010-2015. In 2014, his proposal for a full-time director of the Villanova Program at SCI-Phoenix was approved and Kate Meloney was hired to take over in 2015. Dr. Arvanites taught many semesters at SCI-Phoenix beginning in 1989. He is beloved by many of the students from the prison who he taught or advised. We thank him for all his years of service!

Faculty Research and News Highlights

Lorena Ávila, PhD, was one of the winners of the Research on Latinx Politics and American Institutions award presented by Arizona State University’s Center for Latina/os and American Politics Research for her research “Crimmigration courts: Upholding inequality by bureaucratic means.” The award supports scholars embarking on significant research into how American political institutions impact Latina/o populations.

Adjunct faculty member Eric Gibson, JD, was selected back in October to supervise the New Jersey Attorney General Office’s racketeering case against power broker George E. Norcross III. The case is ongoing.

Rory Kramer, PhD, with coauthors Victor Ray, PhD, and Eduardo Bonilla-Silva, PhD, published the article “Introduction: Racism of Omission” in Social Problems.

Max Osborn, PhD, with coauthors Brian C. Moore, PhD, and Christina DeJong, PhD, published the article "Consequences and Considerations of 'Free Speech' in Higher Education: Validating Trans and Nonbinary Identities in the Classroom Setting" in the Journal of Criminal Justice Education.

Kelly Welch, PhD, and Allison Ann Payne, PhD, published the chapter “Unequal 'In' Security: How Differential School Security Approaches Discriminate Against Students of Color” in the Handbook of Anti-Discriminatory Education.

In Memory of Richard N. Juliani, PhD

With deep sadness, the Department of Sociology and Criminology announces the passing of Richard N. Juliani, PhD, Emeritus Professor of Sociology on February 20, 2025. Dr. Juliani was a dedicated faculty member at Villanova for 34 years, retiring in 2011, and received the University’s Outstanding Faculty Research Award in 1999. A beloved husband and devoted father, Dr. Juliani is survived by his wife, Sandra Juliani (nee Parker), and their children, Alexandra P. Juliani and Richard P. Juliani.

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