The University of Oklahoma (OU) Carceral Studies Consortium is pleased to announce that Dr. Constance Chapple has accepted the role of faculty director of the Carceral Studies Consortium following an internal search. Dr. Chapple will serve as incoming director during the spring semester, and officially assume the position on July 1, 2022.
Dr. Chapple is an associate professor of sociology with research specialties in the causes and consequences of crime and criminal justice involvement. Dr. Chapple has published over 28 articles, chapters, and edited books on the topics of gender and crime, family and crime, peers and crime, the social and financial consequences of incarceration and arrest and the long-term negative effects that early life-course maltreatment and adversity have on children, youths, and adults. She is a principal investigator, along with Dr. Sherri Castle, of an OU VPRP Big Idea Challenge Grant and leads a transdisciplinary team of faculty who are conducting research on “Child Wellbeing and Opportunities across the Lifespan.”
The OU Carceral Studies Consortium brings together faculty, staff and students from across the University of Oklahoma and beyond to cultivate and support rigorous research, pedagogy, and community engagement toward social transformation. Carceral Studies takes as its primary subject of inquiry the contemporary problem of states and societies organized by punishment and incarceration.
The Consortium is very appreciative of its sponsor deans for their support of this crucial area of research and community engagement, including Dean David Wrobel, Dodge Family College of Arts & Sciences; Dean Ed Kelley, Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication; Dean Stacy Reeder, Rainbolt College of Education; and Dean Hans Butzer, Gibbs College of Architecture. In addition, the Consortium extends its thanks to Dr. Shane Connelly, director of the OU Institute for Community and Society Transformation, for its support of the Consortium.
Listen to a recent interview with Dr. Chapple about her work below.
The University of Oklahoma College of Architecture is proud to announce that Model Schools in the Model City, authored by Director of the Institute for Quality Communities, Amber N. Wiley, Ph.D., has been named one of ten finalists for the 2026 ASALH Book Prize for Best New Book in African American History and Culture.
This semester, students in the LA 5535 Studio: Ecological Planning and Design, led by Prof. Afsana Sharmin, took on an ambitious hypothetical project to redesign key parts of the OU campus. Their mission: to tackle the critical real-world challenge of stormwater management through innovative green design.
Petya Stefanoff, Chair of the Educational Committee with the American Planning Association, Oklahoma Chapter (APA-OK) and Gibbs College PhD candidate, has developed a new training program for local government officials. The program, focused on land use, zoning principles, and land development, recently certified its first graduates with Certified Citizen Planner status.
