Dr. Stephanie C. Jerstad

Education:

Harrison College, 2014
B.S. Criminal Justice

University of Cincinnati, 2016
M.S. Criminal Justice

Southern Illinois University, 2022
PhD Criminology and Criminal Justice

Courses taught at Millersville University, 2021-Present:

Criminology; Policing and Courts; Modern Corrections; Sociology of the Family; Comparative Global Justice; Sex Crimes and Victimization; Social Statistics; Research Methods.

• Developed specialized criminology courses, including Comparative Global Justice and Sex Crimes and Victimization, expanding undergraduate exposure to international criminal justice systems, correctional practices, and contemporary issues in criminology.
• Designed and implemented student-centered instructional strategies emphasizing active learning, collaborative activities, critical thinking, and experiential learning.
• Integrated educational technologies, including Top Hat, Nearpod, and Packback, to support student engagement, writing development, formative feedback, and comprehension of course material.
• Developed and published Lady (In)Justice: A Critical Look into the Symbols of the Criminal Justice System, an openly licensed educational resource available through MERLOT.
• Incorporated guest speakers, including criminal justice professionals and justice-involved individuals, to connect classroom learning with lived experiences and contemporary criminal justice issues.
• Initiated discussions with Aces Polytechnic College in the Philippines regarding potential international educational collaboration and future study-abroad opportunities associated with Comparative Global Justice.

SOCY 210 Sociology of the Family
SOCY 230 Criminology
SOCY 331 Police and the Courts
SOCY 332 Modern Corrections
SOCY 339 Comparative Global Justice
SOCI 305 Research Methods
SOCY 339 Sex Crimes and Victimization
SOCY 302 Social Statistics

Scholary Publications and Educational Resources

Books Under Contract:

Jerstad, S. C. (Under contract). Comparative Global Justice. Top Hat. Anticipated manuscript completion: March 2027; planned instructional use: August 2027.

Other Scholarly and Educational Publications: 

Jerstad, S. C. (2022). Lady (In)Justice: A critical look into the symbols of the criminal justice system. MERLOT. Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial–ShareAlike (CC BY-NC-SA).

Manuscripts Under Review or Revision:

Jerstad, S. C., & Levenson, J. S. (Revise and resubmit). Criminal justice policies and access to long-term care for individuals convicted of sexual offenses.

Works in Progress:

Jerstad, S. “We shouldn’t hold their past against them”: Long-term care administrators’ attitudes and perceptions on the admission of persons convicted of a sex offense. Manuscript in preparation.

Jerstad, S. State punitiveness and its role in sex offender legislation. Manuscript in preparation.

Grants and Funded Projects:

2026 | Positive Energy Grant, Millersville University. $2,500.

Awarded May 2026 to support The Forest Daily, an interdisciplinary children's book project integrating creative storytelling, art, graphic design, and education.

2022 | Open Educational Resources (OER) Development Grant, Millersville University. $1,000.

Awarded July 2022 to support the development of Lady (In)Justice: A Critical Look into the Symbols of the Criminal Justice System, an openly licensed instructional resource published through MERLOT.

 Open Education Resources: Lady (In)Justice (merlot.org)