Jennifer Boyer, JD, PhD

Dr. Jennifer Boyer is an Associate Professor of Criminal Justice in the Department of Criminal Justice, History, and Politics at Pennsylvania Western University. She earned her J.D. from Ohio Northern University and her Ph.D. in Criminology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Boyer is a licensed attorney in Pennsylvania, having previously worked as an assistant public defender working with both juvenile and adult clients and handling all types of juvenile and criminal cases. She also is MPOETC (Municipal Police Officers’ Education and Training Commission) certified as a general instructor. She teaches at Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s Municipal Police Academy. Dr. Boyer is the Alpha Phi Sigma (National Criminal Justice Honor Society) advisor for the Clarion campus, the baseball team’s faculty advisor, a member of the Institutional Review Board, and a member of the Inclusive Community Assessment Team. Dr. Boyer is active with her local bar association and a number of professional criminology/criminal justice organizations. She served as president of the Northeastern Association of Criminal Justice Sciences during the 2023-2024 school year. Dr. Boyer’s research interests include juvenile justice, criminal law, criminal procedure, and issues faced by criminal justice practitioners.