Drexel's Kline School of Law and College of Arts and Sciences Launch Justice Collaborative
From left, The Sing Sing Files author Dan Slepian, Drexel Kline Law Professor Lauren Katz Smith, criminal legal reform advocate Jermaine Archer, and Drexel College of Arts & Sciences professors Clare Strange and Jordan Hyatt gather for a photo on Feb. 27 after the Drexel Justice Collaborative’s first event. Professors Hyatt, Strange and Katz Smith are the Drexel Justice Collaborative’s leadership team. (Photo by Ray Bailey.)
March 5, 2025
Drexel University’s Thomas R. Kline School of Law is pleased to announce the launch of the Drexel Justice Collaborative (DJC), a lab for Drexel University students and faculty across disciplines to learn about and get involved in justice-related research and community engagement projects. The lab is supported by Drexel’s College of Arts and Sciences and the Kline School of Law.
The DJC’s stated mission is to “support the development of evidence-based policy and legislation in the justice and correctional spaces” through research and community engagement. The DJC is focused on such issues as gun violence, access to justice and prison reform, with the intent of advancing research and interdisciplinary collaboration.
Another of the DJC’s goals is to support educational collaborations for faculty and students, including ongoing programs—such as an upcoming one that brings law students to Norway for a week to learn about that country’s legal system, for example—and to develop new partnerships.
“The DJC will catalyze a wide range of activities that engage students and faculty interested in criminal justice issues. It will support critical research, help educate the next generation of scholars and practitioners, and drive improvements in criminal justice policy and practice,” said Daniel M. Filler, dean of Drexel Kline Law.
Professor Jordan Hyatt of Drexel’s Department of Criminology and Justice Studies directs the lab. Hyatt’s research is focused on corrections and reentry, and geared to developing effective criminal justice policies.
The DJC is also led by Drexel’s Clare Strange, a professor in Drexel’s Department of Criminology and Justice Studies, whose focus in the DJC is research; and Lauren Katz Smith, a professor at Drexel Kline Law, who handles community engagement for the DJC.
“A key goal of the DJC is to find ways to bridge the gap between various disciplines within the university and the law school to create a collaborative space focused on applied research, policy work, and other kinds of scholarship to address some of the challenges that we see,” said Hyatt.
The DJC seeks to engage law students, students in the social sciences and faculty from multiple disciplines and colleges at Drexel University through workshops, lectures and opportunities for independent and collaborative community-engaged scholarship—all linked by a focus on justice. Anyone who has questions or would like to get involved can contact the DJC at justicecollaborative@drexel.edu.