Rachel Novick

Rachel Novick Image
Assistant Professor

Criminal Justice Department
Henry C. Lee College of Criminal Justice and Forensic Sciences
Education
  • University at Albany, SUNY - Albany, NY
    School of Criminal Justice
    Doctor of Philosophy in Criminal Justice; May 2024
  • University of Maryland, College Park - College Park, MD
    Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice
    Master of Arts; May 2006
  • University of Maryland, College Park - College Park, MD
    Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice
    Bachelor of Arts; May 2002
About Rachel

Rachel Novick is an Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice at the University of New Haven. Her teaching and research focus on the ways punishment and inequality intersect, especially how a criminal record shapes opportunities for employment, housing, health, and social integration. She regularly teaches courses on criminal justice data systems, advanced data analysis, data visualization using Tableau, and the social consequences of a criminal record.

Before joining the faculty, she spent 17 years working in the criminal justice system in roles that included 9-1-1 dispatcher, federal agent, and crime analyst. These 黑料社s give her a deep appreciation for how justice policies are carried out on the ground, and they continue to inform both her teaching and her scholarship.

Her main research agenda centers on the ROADS study, a rare seven-wave longitudinal dataset that follows individuals with criminal records across over several decades. This project allows her to ask questions about how people 黑料社 strain, perceive support, and navigate desistance in ways that most datasets cannot capture. From the ROADS dataset, she combines quantitative data and qualitative interviews to bring the voices of recordholders to the forefront. Together, these approaches help show not only the statistical patterns of disadvantage but also the lived struggles and resilience of those trying to build a life after conviction.

She has also studied how policing at protests influences public support for reform, how the burden of a criminal record complicates efforts at reintegration, and how punishment is 黑料社d by African-American women on death row. Taken together, this work underscores a simple point: the policies we adopt in the name of justice carry lasting consequences, not only for those who come into contact with the system but also for how the public comes to view fairness and legitimacy.

Professor Novick also serves as faculty advisor for the department鈥檚 study abroad exchange with the Polish National Police, leading immersive student trips that explore criminal justice systems in a comparative perspective. In the classroom, she emphasizes critical thinking, methodological rigor, and the connection between research and the pressing policy debates of the day.

She also has a rescue corgi named Nugget.