Susan Lentz, Ph.D., J.D.

Biography

Susan Lentz serves as the chair of the Department of Criminal Justice overseeing an undergraduate program of about 700 majors and a growing master's program. She also has been the coordinator and advisor for the department's law and justice specialization (pre-law) that she co-created. Lentz has served on numerous university, college and department committees.

Lentz received her doctoral degree in history from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and her law degree from the University of Denver. After several years practicing law in both the private and public sectors, she joined the University of Nevada, Reno criminal justice department in 1993.

Her teaching interests focus on criminal law and procedure, gender issues in criminal justice, feminist legal theory and legal research. Lentz's research emphasizes integrating historical knowledge of law and/or gender issues into contemporary criminal justice policy and practice including topics such as sexual assault law reforms.

Publications

• Making a Difference: An Overview of Gender and the Courts, in G. Larry Mays and Peter R. Gregware, eds. Courts and Justice, 4th ed. Waveland Press (2009)
• Full Speed Ahead: Illinois v Lidster and Suspicionless Vehicle Stops, with R. Chaires, The Criminal Law Bulletin, Vol. 43, No. 2 (2007)
• The Invention of Peel's Principles: A study of policing 'textbook' history, with R. Chaires, Journal of Criminal Justice, Vol. 35, No. 1. (2007)
• The Law of Jury Service in the Twentieth Century, Part Two of Without Peers: A History of Women and Trial by Jury. S. Lentz, Women and Criminal Justice, Vol. 11, No. 4 (2000)