Dr. Crystal C. Rodriguez is an Associate Professor in the Social Sciences Department and teaches in the criminal justice program. She is a co-found of the Justice@BCC Committee and is also an active member of the Association of Latino Faculty and Staff (ALFS). With colleagues, she was awarded a grant to open the Justice and Advocacy Alliance at the college to support justice-impacted students. She was born and raised in the Bronx, New York and is a first-generation college student who educates and advocates for justice.
Dr. Rodriguez started teaching at BCC in 2012 as the first full-time criminal justice faculty member. Her teaching philosophy combines culturally relevant and trauma informed pedagogy with making meaning, cognitive challenge, and conversational instruction to increase student engagement and learning.
Her scholarship focuses on cross-cultural competency, quantitative literacy, pedagogical practices, reentry, attitudes towards police, and gang prevention.
Education
Ph.D., CUNY Graduate Center/John Jay College of Criminal Justice
M.A., CUNY Graduate School and University Center
M.A., CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice
B.S., SUNY Buffalo State College
Courses Taught
FYS 11: First Year Seminar
CRJ 11: Introduction to Criminal Justice
CRJ 21: Introduction to Criminology
CRJ 22: Introduction to Policing
CRJ 23: Introduction to Corrections
Recent Publications
Rima, B. & Rodriguez, C.C. (2022). What did we learn? Assessment of an interdisciplinary student project. Journal of Effective Teaching in Higher Education, 4(3), pp. 53-70. https://jethe.org/index.php/jethe/article/view/270/63
Leyro, S., Rodriguez, C. C., & Vizcarrondo, M. (2022). Moving the classroom to the field: Creating opportunities of equity and justice for New York City community college students. Beyond Equity Into Justice: Bringing Theory Into Practice at Community Colleges. Taylor and Francis Group. ISBN 9781032016962
Rodriguez, C. C. & Rima, B. (2022) ¡Presente! Toward more inclusive multicultural curricula. Journal of Excellence in College Teaching. Volume 33, Number 2, pp 35-60. http://celt.miamioh.edu/ject/issue.php?v=33&n=2
Rima, B. & Rodriguez, C.C. (2021). Bringing meaning to learning: An interdisciplinary project for first-year community college students, Teaching of Psychology, 48(3), pp. 204-208. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0098628320979878