For Courtney Crittenden, earning a doctorate in criminology and criminal justice at the University of South Carolina brought lasting friendships, influential mentors and a foundation for a career in research, teaching and community service.
Crittenden is a UC Foundation Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Her research examines sex- and race-based differences in correctional treatment and programming, consensual sexual relationships between faculty and students on college campuses, and how criminology and criminal justice researchers measure individual characteristics, including sex assigned at birth, gender identity, sexuality, race and ethnicity.
A dedicated educator, Crittenden teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in research methods, criminology, corrections and related subjects. She particularly enjoys introducing students to the criminal justice system and preparing master’s students to become effective teachers and presenters. Her teaching emphasizes meaningful connections, critical thinking and helping students achieve their goals.
My time in the program at South Carolina was truly unforgettable. I made wonderful, lifelong friends - both among my peers and the faculty there. I was able to work with experts in my field of study who were and still are wonderful mentors to me, including Dr. Barb Koons-Witt and Dr. Emily Wright. I was able to take classes from truly gifted professors who forced us to be on our toes and ready to support our arguments! Truly, it was a great time! And I always try to send my students there when they are thinking about Ph.D. programs.
In 2024, she received UTC’s College of Arts and Sciences Outstanding Tenure/Tenure-Track Teaching Award.
Her commitment to accessible education also shaped her fall 2025 professional development leave project: a comprehensive open educational resource curriculum for Introduction to the Criminal Justice System. The course serves hundreds of students annually, and the free materials save students thousands of dollars each year. In addition to editing the textbook, she developed instructor lecture notes, classroom activities, assignments, reading assessments and exam banks.
Crittenden has held several leadership roles at UTC, including online coordinator from 2020 to 2023 and graduate director from 2023 to 2025. She has chaired the department’s retention, tenure and promotion committee on multiple occasions. Her university service includes Faculty Senate, Graduate Council, the Title IX Educational Committee and the Advisory Committee for the Walker Center for Teaching and Learning.
Among her most meaningful commitments is her work with Love, Period., a nonprofit ministry that expands access to period products. As a founding member and chairperson of its executive committee, she helps support the distribution of approximately 100,000 to 120,000 products annually to local food banks, schools, parks, libraries and jails.
Her community engagement has earned several honors, including the 2022 Harold Love Outstanding Community Service Award, a statewide recognition presented by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission.
Outside of work, Crittenden enjoys reading fiction, walking and hiking with her husband and their energetic dog, and taking Pure Barre classes with friends.
She remembers her time at South Carolina as an experience that continues to shape her work with students.