Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice

Welcome to the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice at Kennesaw State University! We offer majors in Sociology and Criminal Justice, in both traditional and fully online formats. The department also offers a Masters in Criminal Justice. As well, the department offers minors in Criminal Justice, Criminology, Gerontology, Medical Sociology, and Sociology. The department actively promotes experiential learning. Sociology and Criminal Justice undergraduate majors are required to complete an internship, cooperative studies, or a study abroad. We also value and promote global learning; our faculty have offered study abroad opportunities in Ghana, Germany and Netherlands, and South Korea and Thailand. Our department houses the official journal of the Georgia Sociological Association, the Journal of Public and Professional Sociology.

Recent News + More News

• Dr. Barbara Combs Honored as Georgia's Sociologist of the Year
• Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration Hosted by the Kennesaw Police Citizen Advisory Board
• The Teach-In Committee Presented "Immigration and the Border: What's Really Happening"
• Professor Ken White Recently Published in the Marietta Daily Journal

New Faculty Spotlight

• Mindy Barnhardt
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    Mindy Bernhardt

    Dr. Bernhardt started her career with an interest in the psychological aspects of criminology with a focus on offender decision making and relationships. Upon obtaining her Ph.D., she went to work for a policing nonprofit where she got to work closely with the Atlanta Police Department and other Fulton County criminal justice agencies like the District Attorney and Sheriff’s offices and the department of community supervision. This experience led to a newfound love of teaching while mentoring the interns that worked under her supervision, leading her to go back to the academic halls as a lecturer. The nonprofit did not stop at inspiration as it also improved her teaching by providing her experience and understanding with the difficulties criminal justice agencies experience while implementing the techniques, strategies, laws, and theories she teaches in the classroom.  All of Dr. B’s experience has allowed her to bring the theoretical and practical together on both sides of the coin (criminology and criminal justice) for more holistic and complete lessons.
• Ian King
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    Ian King

    Ian King earned his Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Purdue University-Fort Wayne in 2017 and earned his Master’s degree in Sociology from Bowling Green State University in 2020. He is currently finishing up his PhD work at Bowling Green State University. He is trained in criminology and social psychology and his teaching and research interests span both of these areas. Ian King's research broadly examines the effects that public policy has on prisoner reentry, criminal offending, and deviant behavior. He is currently conducting research on how formal labels given by the criminal justice system influence mental health and recidivism, barriers to help-seeking among individuals in violent relationships, and how the policies connected to the COVID-19 pandemic influenced alcohol use, intimate partner violence, and health among parents. He has previously taught Deviance and Social Control and will be teaching Foundation of Criminal Justice, Juvenile Justice, and Profile of the Serial Offender at Kennesaw State University. When not teaching or researching, he enjoys watching horror films and collecting memorabilia from horror movies.
• Felipe Salazar-Tobar
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    Felipe Salazar-Tobar

    Dr. Felipe Salazar-Tobar is an incoming Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice in the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice at Kennesaw State University. He holds a Ph.D. in Criminal Justice from Rutgers University-Newark School of Criminal Justice. He also received an M.A. in Criminal Justice (Rutgers University) and a B.A. in Sociology (Alberto Hurtado University, Chile). His research focuses on policing and its contexts in the U.S. and abroad. He is particularly interested in the diffusion of policing strategies, trust in the police, and innovation in police practices. Felipe’s work emphasizes the connection between research and policy to inform policing more effectively. His dissertation, for example, examined the adoption of hot spot policing and community policing strategies from a comparative perspective, offering insights into police reform processes. Before joining KSU, Felipe held government positions in his home country, Chile, on public safety and crime prevention. His research background includes experiences in the Latin American School of Social Science (FLACSO-Chile) and the Vera Institute of Justice. Felipe is a first-generation student and a native Spanish speaker. He enjoys spending time playing and reading with his daughter.