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Fri, 22 Jan 2021 14:24:00 +0000

Berks criminal justice professor joins Lehigh Valley Justice Institute admin Fri, 01/22/2021 - 09:24
Ebonie Cunningham Stringer, assistant professor of criminal justice at Penn State Berks.
Credit: Penn State Expand January 22, 2021
WYOMISSING, Pa. — Ebonie Cunningham Stringer, assistant professor of criminal justice at Penn State Berks, has been tapped to join the board of directors of the newly formed Lehigh Valley Justice Institute. The Institute began operations in mid-December 2020, and it is based in Easton, Pennsylvania.

The institute is a nonpartisan research policy and advocacy organization that promotes a data-driven reimagining of criminal justice processes and practices in the Lehigh Valley area of Pennsylvania. Cunningham Stringer is also a part of the Institute's research team, which is comprised of Angela Bell of Lafayette College, Holona Ochs of Lehigh University, and Kate Richmond of Lehigh University.

Currently, the research team is working on a three-year project to assess policing, courts, corrections and reentry in Lehigh Valley. Cunningham Stringer said she plans to ask students at Penn State Berks students to participate in the study, conducting interviews and analyzing data.

“I'm so honored be serving with a number of distinguished scholars, business leaders, elected officials, and activists,” commented Cunningham Stringer.

The 25-member board is comprised of community leaders; former state representatives; judges; scholars from Lehigh University, Muhlenberg University and Lafayette College, and Penn State Berks. In addition, at least two former prisoners must be members of the board at all times.

Cunningham Stringer’s research addresses some of the most pressing issues in the broad fields of criminal and social justice. Her work has been published in academic as well as mainstream media outlets. Her teaching and research interests include maternal incarceration, gender and crime, and the role of clergy and religious institutions in social and criminal justice Initiatives.