Bio

SHYTIERRA GASTON earned a Ph.D. in Criminology and Criminal Justice from the University of Missouri-St. Louis and is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice at Indiana University-Bloomington. Shytierra uses quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methodologies to investigate research topics related to two broad lines of inquiry. The first centers on the intersection of race/ethnicity, crime, and criminal justice, with a special interest in the treatment of people of color during criminal justice processing and the disparate impact of the criminal justice system on people, families, and communities of color. Shytierra’s second area of research examines U.S. corrections, with a particular focus on the reentry experiences of inmates and the collateral consequences of incarceration for offenders, families, and communities. She has received funding from the National Science Foundation for her research.  Her Summer Research Institute paper is entitled, “Producing Race Disparities: A Qualitative Study of Drug Law Enforcement across Place and Race.” SRI Mentor: Ron Weitzer (George Washington University); SRI Peer Mentor: Patricia Warren (Florida State University).