Prison Education Programs

About Us

Dr. Schannae Lucas
Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice

Biography

A tenured Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Dr. Schannae Lucas received her M.A. and Ph.D. from Washington State University in Criminology and Criminal Justice and her B.S. in Social Science at the University of California, Irvine. Prior to joining the Cal Lutheran faculty in 2008, Dr. Lucas was an Assistant Professor at Lewis University in Romeoville, Illinois in the Justice, Law and Public Safety Studies Department and the Chicago Police Academy. Her journey into the field of Criminal Justice began in the area of federal corrections in probation and at a federal halfway house. 

Dr. Lucas’s research interests and various publications are in the areas of victimology, mass incarceration, community corrections and re-entry, and experiential learning in criminal justice. She has conducted re-entry evaluation work with various local agencies. Dr. Lucas is a long-time member of the American Society of Criminology (ASC) and Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS), she has held various leadership positions with these national professional associations. Dr. Lucas has also received several mini-grants for her work with outreach with domestic violence agencies, prison education as well as for service-learning classes, and academic community outreach.

Dr. Lucas was the first to implement the “Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program” at California Lutheran University and in Ventura County at the Todd Road Jail. This innovative prison education program is a college course taught with both Cal Lutheran students and incarcerated students in the local jail. Also in the area of re-entry service, Dr. Lucas created workshop called “Pathway 101” in which Cal Lutheran faculty provide re-entry educational and vocational workshops for connectional facility. In recognition of the Inside-out Prison Exchange Program, Dr. Lucas received the Outstanding Professor Award from the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice. (ABC7 News) . Dr. Lucas also received the 2019 "Outstand the Alumni Award" from Washington State University and in 2020 the Cal Lutheran’s Dean Award for Innovation in Pedagogy in Criminology and Criminal Justice.

Education 

• B.A. from University of California Irvine, Irvine CA
• M.A. and Ph.D. from Washington State University, Pullman WA

Expertise 

• Gender & Crime
• Victimology
• Mass incarceration
• Corrections and Re-entry