Sociology & Criminal Justice

Sociology & Criminal Justice Faculty

Elmhurst faculty members are scholars and practitioners in their own right—who love to teach on a campus where they can work with their students as individuals. Want to know more? See our faculty profiles, below. Or contact a professor directly through our Faculty Directory.

Full-time Faculty
James P. Smith
Brenda Forster
Richard G. Greenleaf
Sarah M. Smith

Adjunct Faculty
Rita Adamitis
Karen Bailey
Ed Heerdt
Lori Klose
Gina Luby
Andrew Pulaski
Grace Safien
Steven Stelter
Vicki Root-Wajda

James P. Smith
Assistant Professor and Department Chair
Ph.D., University of Iowa
Dr. Smith teaches social inequality, sex and gender, complex organizations, research methods, and sociological theory. He also holds an advanced degree in history. He is particularly interested in the use of computers in teaching.

Brenda Forster
Professor
Ph.D., Northwestern University
Dr. Forster is a recipient of the College's prestigious Excellence in Teaching Award and teaches in the areas of family, social problems, majority-minority relations, and aging. She is certified as a medical sociologist by the American Sociological Association and also holds advanced degrees in psychiatric nursing and Judaic Studies.

Richard G. Greenleaf
Professor
Ph.D., University of Florida
Dr. Greenleaf is the director of the criminal justice major, and specializes in policing, gangs, domestic violence and criminological theory. He has studied racial profiling in the City of Seattle and police discretion in Chicago. His past publications have appeared in Criminology, Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, Justice Quarterly,  Journal of Ethnicity in Criminal Justice, Victims and Offenders, and Journal of Gang Research. Dr. Greenleaf is the Editor of the Journal of Police Crisis Negotiations and a former Albuquerque police sergeant.

Sarah M. Smith
Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice
Ph.D., University of California at Irvine
Dr. Smith specializes in corrections, deviance and social control, and prisoner re-entry. She also is interested in gender and crime and criminological theory. She completed her undergraduate degree at The College of William and Mary and her M.A. in sociology from George Washington University. She has studied the prison system in the state of California focusing on procedural issues as well as parole.

Rita Adamitis
Adjunct Faculty
Eastern Illinois University
Ms. Adamitis if the principal of the high school at the Illinois Youth Center, St. Charles. She teaches juvenile deliquency.

Karen Bailey
Adjunct Faculty
M.S.W., Aurora University
Karen Bailey teaches introduction to social work, casework and group work.  She is a licensed clinical social worker and currently works in her private practice.  She has experience working as a school social worker, caseworker, program supervisor, and psychotherapist.  She has been teaching for several years in addition to her clinical work.

Ed Heerdt
Adjunct Faculty
M.A., Loyola University Chicago
Mr. Heerdt teaches in the areas of criminal investigation and organized and white collar crime. He has 16 years' experience with the Chicago Police Departments and has been assigned as a homicide detective for 11 years. He also has patrol experience in gang and narcotics investigations.

Lori Klose
Adjunct Faculty
M.A., University of Chicago
Ms. Klose teaches in the area of society, health and illness. In addition to her academic background she also has professional experience with the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Workers Compensation.

Gina Luby
Gina Luby
Adjunct Faculty
M.A., DePaul University
Ms. Luby teaches introductory courses in sociology and criminal justice. Upon receiving her M.A., she spent two years as a research analyst for the Illinois Attorney General's Gang Crime Prevention Center. Ms. Luby began teaching in 2001, teaching both basic introductory courses as well as upper-level deviance courses.

Andrew E. Pulaski
Adjunct Faculty
J.D., Case Western Reserve University School of Law
Mr. Pulaski teaches criminal law and criminal procedure. He is also a practicing attorney in Chicago.

Grace Safien
Adjunct Faculty
M.S.W., University of Illinois at Chicago
Ms. Safien teaches introduction to social work, casework and group work. She has a private practice in individual and family therapy and is a school social workerfor a local school district.

Steven Stelter
Adjunct Faculty
M.A., Lewis University
Mr. Stelter serves as Chief of Police of the Brookfield Police Department. He is a former lieutenant with the DuPage County Sheriff's Office. He teaches white collar and organized crime.

Vicki Root-Wajda
Adjunct Faculty
M.A., Pennsylvania State University
Ms. Root teaches in the area of cultural anthropology. She is particularly interested in the application of anthropology to current social issues and problems.