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Richard Clark, PhD

Professor - Sociology and Criminology

Rich Clark

eMail

rclark@jcu.edu

Phone Number

216-397-4651

Location

Saint Ignatius Hall 336

Rich Clark

Biography

Dr. Richard Clark received his Ph.D. from the State University of New York in criminal justice and came to John Carroll in 1995. His research interests include the operation of the criminal justice system, the death penalty, the study of forgiveness, human rights and peace building. His teaching areas are mostly in the Criminology Track. In addition to his numerous publications, Dr. Clark has presented over 50 papers at professional meetings.

He is the former Director of the university’s Peace, Justice & Human Rights program, and was one of four faculty members who participated in the inaugural trip on “Conflict Transformation and Peace Building” that took place in Northern Ireland, and was also a faculty leader on a similar trip to South Africa. Dr. Clark was selected as a 2011 Carl Wilkens Genocide Fellow by the Genocide Intervention Network. He is one of 55 community leaders throughout the US who are charged with building “permanent anti-genocide constituency willing and able to protect civilians from mass atrocities,” Currently, he is the JCU faculty link to JUHAN (Jesuit University’s Humanitarian Action Network). In June 2015 he was the Program Chair for the bi-annual JUHAN conference which was held at John Carroll. Dr. Clark is also a former Board President of the Inter-Religious Task Force on Central America. IRTF is a Cleveland based organization that promotes peace and human rights in Central America and Columbia. It was founded by people of faith and conscience after the 1980 murder of four US church women in El Salvador.

 

Teaching Interests:

Dr. Clark regularly teaches the following courses:

  • SC-1010 Foundations of Sociology
  • SC-1110 Introduction to Social Justice
  • SC-3000 The Death Penalty
  • SC-3050 Inside/Out: Modern Social Problems
  • SC-3350 Prisons and Human Rights
  • SC-3430 Drugs and Crime
  • SC-4400 Violence and Society

 

Research Interests:

  • Victimology
  • Juvenile delinquency
  • Forgiveness
  • Death penalty
  • Restorative justice and human rights

 

Awards:

  • In 2024, Dr. Clark received the John Carroll University Lucrezia Culicchia Award for Teaching Excellence.
  • In 2007, he received the John Carroll University's Curtis W. Miles Community Service Award
  • Along with departmental colleague, Dr. Wendy Wiedenhoft, Dr. Clark was awarded the 2006 Bilateral Cooperation Award by the British Chamber of Commerce for work on conflict transformation in Northern Ireland.
  • In 2004, Dr. Clark, along with several colleagues, was given an Award of Achievement from Northern Ohio Live Magazine for promoting death penalty issues.

 

Degrees

  • Ph.D, State University of New York at Albany