Faculty & Staff
Faculty
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M. Dwayne Smith, Ph.D.ProfessorPhone: (813) 974-3151 |
Dr. M. Dwayne Smith is a Professor in the Department of Criminology at the University of South Florida. He received his B.S. and M.A. degrees from the University of Houston and a Ph.D. from Duke University. Before his appointment at USF in 2000 as Chair of the Department of Criminology, Dr. Smith was a faculty member and chair at Tulane University (Department of Sociology, 1980-1994) and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (Department of Sociology, Anthropology, & Social Work, 1994-2000; Department of Criminal Justice, 1998-2000). He was appointed to an administrative post at USF in July 2005, and served as the university’s Senior Vice Provost until August 2022. As well, he simultaneously served as Dean of the Office of Graduate Studies from July 2013 to August 2022.
Specializing in the study of violent behavior, Dr. Smith's current research concentrates on analyses of jury decisions in death penalty cases in North Carolina, while his past efforts have focused on the dynamics of homicide offending and victimization among specific populations within the United States and developing social-structural profiles of cities that demonstrate either high or low rates of violent crime. In addition to publishing numerous journal articles and book chapters, he has co-edited (with Margaret A. Zahn) two books, Homicide: A Sourcebook of Social Research and Studying and Preventing Homicide: Issues and Challenges. Dr. Smith is the founding editor of Homicide Studies: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal, a journal that recently celebrated 25 years of publication.
External Research Links:
ResearchGate