Bio
Rachel E. Lovell, PhD (The Ohio State University, Sociology, 2007), is an Associate Professor of Criminology in the Department of Criminology and Sociology and Director of the Criminology Research Center in the Levin College of Public Affairs and Education at Cleveland State University in Cleveland, Ohio.
A criminologist and methodologist, she specializes in applied research and evaluation, collaborating closely with criminal justice agencies, community organizations, and public and social service systems. Her work focuses on issues including sexual assault, sexual assault kits, human trafficking, intimate partner violence, and gun violence. She is an established scholar with scholar, securing over $7 million in external funding since 2013, published numerous peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, and recently served as lead editor of the monograph Sexual Assault Kits and Reforming the Response to Rape. Her research has been featured in The Atlantic, Washington Post, The New York Times, USA Today, Pro Publica, and Sports Illustrated.
Since 2015, Dr. Lovell has been the Principal Investigator on several large action research projects on untested sexual assault kits in collaboration with the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office, the Akron Police Department, and the Cleveland Police Department, with funding provided by the Department of Justice’s Sexual Assault Kit Initiative. As an extension of the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative, she serves as the lead researcher on the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office’s Lawfully “Owed” DNA Initiative.
In 2022, she completed a National Institute of Justice-funded study applying machine learning technology to analyze thousands of sexual assault police reports, identifying ‘signaling’ language that impacts victim credibility assessments.
Education
PhD, The Ohio State University, Sociology, 2007
MA, Baylor University, Sociology, 2001
BA, Baylor University, Sociology 2000
Areas of Interest/Professional Expertise
Gender-based violence, sexual assault/rape, sexual assault kits, sexual offending, human trafficking, intimate partner violence, domestic violence, applied methodologist, program evaluation, commnity-based research
Employment
Dr. Lovell has been at Cleveland State University since Fall 2021 and the Director of the Criminology Research Center since Spring 2022. Prior to arriving at Cleveland State, she was a Research Assistant Professor (2019-2021) and Senior Research Associate (2012-2019) at the Begun Center for Violence Prevention Research and Education at Case Western Reserve University. From 2009 to 2012, Dr. Lovell was a Senior Research Methodologist at DePaul University.
Teaching areas
Criminology, Victimology, Social Statistics, Evaluation Research, Violence and Victimization, Interpersonal Violence, Women and Criminal Justice, Gender-Based Violence, Social Research Methods, Gender Studies/Sociology of Women, Social Stratification/Inequality