Mike Tapia, Ph.D Assistant Professor and Graduate Coordinator of Criminal Justice
- Faculty
Contact
Office
McDowell Administration Building 102G
Related Majors
Related Department
Educational Background
- Ph.D., Sociology, The Ohio State University, 2008
- M.A., Sociology, University of Texas at San Antonio, 2001
- B.A., Political Science, St. Mary’s University (Texas), 1996
Professional Experience
- Assistant Professor, Texas A&M University-Commerce, 2021-present
- Adult Probation and Parole, State of New Mexico Corrections Department, 2020-2021
- Assistant and Associate Professor, New Mexico State University, 2015-2020
- Assistant Professor, University of Texas at San Antonio, 2008-2015
- Lecturer, University of Texas at San Antonio, 2003-2007
- Graduate Assistant, The Ohio State University, 2001-2003
- Caseworker, University of Chicago, 1997-2007
Awards and Honors
- 2021 TAMUC College of Humanities, Social Sciences and Arts (CHSSA) Research Support grant
- College of Arts and Sciences Outstanding Achievement in Outreach, 2019 (NMSU)
- Nominated to the university’s “Tuly Innovative” teaching award, December 2019 (NMSU)
- Nominated for University Research Council’s Exceptional Achievements in Creative Scholarly Activity, October 2019 (NMSU)
Research Interests
- Street and Prison Gangs
- Juvenile Delinquency
- Race and Crime
Featured Courses
- CJ13010: Introduction to Criminal Justice
- CJ326: Juvenile Delinquency
- CJ497: Race, Ethnicity, and Crime
- CJ530: Criminology Seminar
- CJ568: Seminar in Corrections
Professional Organizations
- American Society of Criminology (ASC)
- National Association of Chicana & Chicano Studies (NAACS)
- Texas Association of Chicanos in Higher Education (TACHE)
Selected Publications
Mike Tapia, Deborah Blalock, JoAnne Choi, & Erika Ochoa. 2021. “Dropout & Incarceration: Extending the School to Prison Pipeline (STPP) Construct in Texas”. Justice Policy Journal, 17 (2): 1-24.
Mike Tapia. 2020. “Gangs of the El Paso-Juarez Borderland: The Role of History and Geography in shaping Criminal Subcultures.” Trends in Organized Crime, 23(1): 367-384.
Mike Tapia. 2019. “Modern Chicano Street Gangs: Ethnic Pride Versus ‘Gangsta’ Subculture”. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 41(3): 1-25.