Nancy La Vigne, director of the Justice Department's National Institute of Justice (NIJ) during the Biden administration, has been named Dean of the Rutgers School of Criminal Justice. La Vigne, a 1996 graduate of the Rutgers School of Criminal Justice’s doctoral program, has focused her work on data-driven and research-informed improvements to policy and practice on a wide array of criminal justice topics. She has emphasized bridging the divide between researchers, practitioners and policymakers, helping apply science and data to inform public safety efforts. At NIJ, La Vigne launched an “evidence to action” initiative to spur the adoption of research findings by policymakers and practitioners. She oversaw new research investments on evaluating alternatives to 911, recruiting and retaining more women in policing, supporting officer wellness, and improving environments for prisoners.
La Vigne previously was Vice President of Justice Policy at the Urban Institute, a nonprofit social policy research organization, where she led a team of researchers and was co-principal investigator for a study on reentry from prison. She served as executive director of the Charles Colson Task Force on Federal Corrections Reform, guiding data-driven recommendations that set the foundation for the federal First Step Act, which is designed to reduce the federal prison population while maintaining public safety. La Vigne, who grew up in New Jersey, graduated from Smith College and received her master’s degree from the School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin before attending Rutgers. In her new position, she will succeed William McCarthy, who has served as dean at the Rutgers School for Criminal Justice for nearly five years. McCarthy expanded the faculty, started academic collaborations with other schools across Rutgers, and streamlined the school's daily operations, the school said in its announcement of La Vigne's appointment.
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