Pamela Tontodonato

Pamela Tontodonato is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at Kent State University. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, specializing in Criminology.  Currently a faculty member, she previously served as Associate Dean in the College of Arts and Sciences, and as interim chair and undergraduate and graduate coordinator for the Department of Justice Studies.  In 2007, she received the Raymond J. Kuhn and Shirley J. Kuhn Excellence in Undergraduate Advising Award and in 2006, the Student Accessibility Services and Ability Unlimited Outstanding Faculty award.  She has served as a Trustee on the Executive Board of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences.  Recent publications include works in the area of distracted driving, distracted walking, and criminal justice education.  She has published in journals including Criminology, Justice Quarterly, Violence and Victims, the International Review of Victimology, the Journal of Criminal Justice Education, the American Journal of Criminal Justice, and The Social Science Journal.  She was one of the authors of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences Assessment web pages.

Teaching Interests:

• Juvenile Delinquency/Juvenile Justice
• Statistics
• Research Methods (Quantitative)
• Criminological Theory
• Violent Crime
• Victimology

Research Interests:

• Juvenile Delinquency and Criminal Behavior
• Victimology
• Pedagogy and assessment
• Survey research
• Distracted Driving

Publications (select)

P. Tontodonato and E. Pringle (2024). “First-generation and racially minoritized student success: Effectiveness of a framing intervention.” Journal of First-Generation Student Success.  https://doi.org/10.1080/26906015.2024.2311103 (published online March 13).

P. Tontodonato and A. Drinkard (2021).  “Predictors of cellphone-related distracted walking among college students.” The Social Science Journal. https://doi.org/10.1080/03623319.2021.1899360

P. Tontodonato and A. Drinkard (2020). “Social learning and distracted driving among young adults.” American Journal of Criminal Justice, 45 (5): 821-843. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-020-09516-6

A. Drinkard and P. Tontodonato (2019). “The value-added nature of service-learning.” Journal of Criminal Justice Education, 30 (1): 136-155.  https://doi.org/10.1080/10511253.2018.1446544

P. Tontodonato & F. Hagan (2009). What Causes Delinquency? Classical and Sociological Theories of Crime. Chapter 2 (pp. 27-51) in Controversies in Juvenile Justice and Delinquency, 2nd edition, P. Benekos and A. Merlo (Eds.), Anderson Publishing/LexisNexis

P. Tontodonato (2006), Goals, expectations, and satisfaction of criminal justice majors: Implications for faculty, students, and programs, Journal of Criminal Justice Education 17 (1): 162-180.