Kelly Welch, PhD
Professor of Sociology and Criminology; Program Director, Criminology | College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Villanova University
- Villanova PA
Kelly Welch, PhD, is an expert on racial and ethnic profiling, racial disparities in school discipline and public punitiveness toward crime.
Media
Social
Areas of Expertise
Biography
Her research, published in top-tier national and international outlets, explores how these matters affect both adults and children in the contexts of criminal justice as well as educational institutions. As an expert witness in federal court cases, Welch has also cited theoretically and empirically relevant evidence related to racial and religious disparities in criminal justice practices and policies as well as in school discipline.
Education
Florida State University
PhD
Florida State University
MS
University of California - Irvine
BA
Affiliations
- American Society of Criminology
- Editorial Board, Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice: An Interdisciplinary Journal
Select Media Appearances
Chauvin Guilty Verdict Is Rare Instance of Police Murder Conviction
Financial Times
2021-04-20
Police killings are a frequent occurrence in the U.S. But there are few instances in which charges are filed against the officers involved... While laws vary by state, prosecutions generally crumble on the provision that officers may use deadly force if they reasonably believe themselves to be in imminent danger. Jurors raised to view police as trusted authority figures are inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt for split-second decisions, according to Kelly Welch, a sociologist at Villanova University in Pennsylvania.
Sheriff's Office Profiles New Jersey Student After School Shooting Thousands of Miles Away, Lawsuit Says
The Appeal
2020-03-09
Kelly Welch, an associate professor of sociology and criminology at Villanova University who researches racial and ethnic stereotypes and their effects on the school-to-prison pipeline, told The Appeal that "there's a lot of research that shows that students of color are more likely to be targeted by teachers, principals and police officers in schools... Kids who experience harsher treatment in schools are more likely to be funneled into the criminal justice system as they get older."
School Suspensions Have Plunged: We Don't Yet Know if That's Good News
NPR
2017-03-23
In the past five years, 27 states have revised their laws with the intention of reducing suspensions and expulsions. And more than 50 of America's largest school districts have also reformed their discipline policies—changes which collectively affect more than 6.35 million students... If a disruptive student can't be removed from class, what should be done instead? The prevailing alternative is a set of practices known as "restorative justice." The philosophy behind it could be summed up as: "The kids who are misbehaving are also members of the school community," says Kelly Welch, a criminologist who studies the topic at Villanova University.
Vigilante Campus-Carry Laws: A Racially Troubling Paradox
Huffington Post
2016-10-03
"With the fall school semester underway, it is remarkable that this is the first time in U.S. history that K-12 schools and colleges have approached potential acts of violence so dissimilarly."
The Other School Bathroom Issue
U.S. News & World Report
2016-05-26
"Earlier this month, hand-held video footage captured yet another young black man being thrown to the ground and held in a seemingly unnecessary chokehold by a white police officer. But, in this case, the purported suspect was a civically active high school junior who was attempting to use the bathroom without a requisite bathroom pass."
Could Resistance to Comprehensive Immigration Reform Really Be About Ethnic Stereotypes?
Huffington Post
2013-06-14
"Resistance to a legal path to citizenship for immigrants who have already come to the U.S. illegally may be rooted in dangerous stereotypes of Hispanics as criminals that hurt all of us and distract from greater threats."
How to Revamp NYPD's "Stop and Frisk" Policy? That's the Hard Part.
Christian Science Monitor
2013-08-13
Now that a federal judge has ruled that New York's "stop-and-frisk" practices amount to a system of city-sanctioned racial profiling, attention shifts to a court-appointed independent monitor who will oversee the city's on-the-ground compliance with constitutional guidelines... "In the long run, I suspect that the crime rate is going to continue declining," says Kelly Welch, professor of sociology and criminal justice at Villanova University. "This ruling won't really affect that much at all, because 90 percent of the time, when someone is stopped and frisked, there is nothing found..."
Select Academic Articles
Minority Threat in Schools and Differential Security Manifestations: Examining Unequal Control, Surveillance and Protection
Crime and DelinquencyAllison Ann Payne & Kelly Welch
2025
Cumulative Racial and Ethnic Disparities Along the School-to-Prison Pipeline
Journal of Research in Crime and DelinquencyKelly Welch, Peter S. Lehmann, Cecilia Chouhy & Ted Chiricos
2022
Latino/a Student Threat and School Disciplinary Policies and Practices
Sociology of EducationKelly Welch & Allison Ann Payne
2018
The Effect of Minority Threat on Risk Management and the "New Disciplinology" in Schools
Journal of Criminal JusticeKelly Welch
2018
Middle Eastern Terrorist Stereotypes and Anti-Terror Policy Support: The Effect of Perceived Minority Threat
Race and JusticeKelly Welch
2016
