Nancy La Vigne, a renowned criminal justice researcher and former leader in the U.S. Department of Justice under President Biden, has been named Dean of the Rutgers School of Criminal Justice.

La Vigne, a 1996 graduate of the School of Criminal Justice’s doctoral program, directed the National Institute of Justice (NIJ)  for the past three years, overseeing the Justice Department’s research, technology development and evaluation efforts.

La Vigne’s work focuses on data-driven and research-informed improvements to policy and practice on a wide array of criminal justice topics and justice-involved populations. Throughout her career, she has focused on bridging the divide between researchers, practitioners and policymakers, helping both communities and justice system professionals apply science and data to inform public safety efforts.

She has also been at the forefront of a movement to conduct research that is inclusive of the expertise, experiences, and perspectives of the professionals, stakeholders, and community members who are closest to the issue or problem under study.

During her tenure at NIJ, La Vigne launched a new “evidence to action” initiative designed to spur the adoption of research findings by policymakers and practitioners. She also implemented new research investments on evaluating alternatives to 911, recruiting and retaining more women in policing, supporting officer wellness, and improving environments for people who work and are confined in correctional settings.

Her career has included serving as Vice President of Justice Policy at the Urban Institute, a nonprofit social policy research organization, where she led a team of researchers and was co-principal investigator for a groundbreaking study on reentry from prison. She also served as executive director of the Charles Colson Task Force on Federal Corrections Reform, guiding data-driven recommendations for reform that set the foundation for the First Step Act, which is designed to reduce the federal prison population while maintaining public safety.

La Vigne, who grew up in New Jersey, graduated from Smith College with a major in Government, received her master’s degree from the School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin, and earned her Ph.D. at Rutgers University’s School of Criminal Justice.

Dr. William McCarthy has served as Dean over the past (nearly) five years. Dean McCarthy shepherded the school through some difficult times, expanded the faculty with incredible scholars, launched several academic collaborations with other Schools across Rutgers, and streamlined the daily operations of the school.