Associate Professor Jen Steele earned her Ph.D. in Sociology, with a specialization in Criminology, from The University of Akron and a Master’s Degree in Sociology from Ohio University. Before coming to OUL she taught at Walsh University and Ohio University Athens. Her areas of research interest and expertise include substance use and abuse, gender, interpersonal violence, and effective police department crisis communication using social media. Dr. Steele has several peer-reviewed publications that have appeared in Addiction Research and Theory, Interpersonal Violence, Journal of Drug Issues, Substance Use & Misuse, Violence Against Women, Feminist Criminology, Journal of Ethnicity in Substance Abuse, and Gender Issues. Dr. Steele currently teaches introduction to sociology, criminal justice, criminology, deviant behavior (online & in person), social problems (online & in person), and drugs, crime, & society (online). She is also the program coordinator for the Bachelor of Criminal Justice Program at OU Lancaster and faculty advisor for Alpha Phi Sigma National Criminal Justice Society on the Lancaster campus.