Nicole Shoenberger joined Loyola University Maryland in 2018. She earned her Ph.D.
in sociology with a concentration in criminology from Bowling Green State University in 2012 where she also minored in Quantitative Methods. She received a dual B.A. in criminology
and sociology from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 2004. After receiving her Ph.D., she taught at Penn State Behrend for 6 years
and was granted tenure in 2018 before moving to Baltimore to start teaching at Loyola.
Dr. Shoenberger is currently involved in various projects. One area that she has maintained
as a primary focus is positive deviance. This concept is newer to the field of deviance
and explores how deviance rests on a continuum where one can underconform to a social
norm (negative deviance; e.g. crime) or overconform to a social norm (positive deviance;
e.g. high achieving students). Regardless of the action, most behaviors will elicit
a social reaction. Both negative and positive behavior can garner negative and positive
reactions. It is this conceptualization that Shoenberger is interested. She recently
created a psychometric measure of academic positive deviance/rate-busting (overconforming
while receiving a negative reaction).
Dr. Shoenberger’s interest in criminological theory has also influenced her work on examining social control. Using Hirschi and Gottfredson’s theory of self-control, Dr. Shoenberger and Rocheleau examined effective parenting techniques and their connection to imparting self-control in children and whether this differed by the gender of the child. Dr. Shoenberger also extended her love for theory by examining the life course theory and whether the assumptions of the theory were applicable across race. She recently applied Cohen and Felson's Routine Activity Theory to the well-known Sonja Farak drug scandal.
Currently, Dr. Shoenberger has been passionate about issues that plague the criminal
justice system. Within this, she has worked with probation offices to help calculate
proper recidivism rates, has become involved in projects focused towards disproportionate
minority contact in the criminal justice system, and has provided data for city council on the decriminalization of marijuana.
Dr. Shoenberger enjoys working with students and openly invites students to work on current research projects. When she is not working, you can easily find Dr. Shoenberger running ultra marathons and at local food establishments eating as much food as possible to replenish her calories!
Courses Taught
- SC 233 - Juvenile Delinquency
- SC 260 - Introduction to Criminal Justice
- SC 331 - Deviance and Social Control
- SC 332 - Sociology of Crime and Criminals
- SC 342 - Social Research Methods
- SC 371 - Sociology of Serial and Mass Murder
Recommended Websites
- The Innocence Project - Innocenceproject.org
- The Vera Institute - https://www.vera.org/
- Bureau of Justice Statistics - https://www.bjs.gov/
- National Institute of Justice - https://nij.ojp.gov/
- Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice
- Murder Accountability Project - http://www.murderdata.org/