Cook’s Fulbright a Question of Justice

Kim Cook, associate professor of criminology, has won a prestigious Fulbright Scholarship that will take her to Australia, where she will study restorative justice reforms. Cook is one of a handful of scholars out of a field of about 65 applicants to win a Fulbright to Australia, one of the most competitive countries for the scholarship. “I feel I’ve reached the gold standard in academia,” Cook said.

Her host institution will be Australian National University, where she will conduct research on reform approaches to criminal rehabilitation at the invitation of ANU law professor John Braithwaite, a leading scholar in the field. Australia has played a leading role in finding new alternatives to the punitive model of justice.

Her specific proposal is to study restorative justice programs there that include “reintegrative shaming ceremonies,” which she says “aim to reintegrate the offender into society while concurrently giving voice to victims in the process.” She will explore the theoretical underpinnings and the methods used, as well as the success of the programs.

Cook believes her project has relevance to the U.S., where the need for more prisons has sky-rocketed. “By considering these (Australian) alternatives to incarceration,” Cook says, “criminal justice reformers might reverse the trend toward higher incarceration rates.” Her work in Australia will give her the expertise to participate in community-based reform efforts in the U.S.

The reintegrative approach in practice in Australia includes family group conferences and community conferences. A contract is developed between the offenders, victims and community representatives, Cook explains, “whereby the offenders make restitution (perhaps through community service) for their offenses.” Cook will use research methods she’s used before: participant observation, in-depth interviews and some survey methods. She plans to view 20 group conferences and interview participants.

Cook also wants to explore creating an exchange program with ANU that would allow her to take USM criminology students for three week courses in which she would review Australia’s history as a penal colony, reform efforts there and current approaches to justice. “I want my students to have the opportunity to see a model different from America’s punitive approach (to rehabilitation of criminals),” she said.

Cook counts among her recent accomplishments her 1998 book “Divided Passions: Public Opinions on Abortion and the Death Penalty,” published by Northeastern University Press; the New Scholar Award for 1998 from the American Society of Criminology Division on Women and Crime; and the 1999 USM Faculty Senate Award for Excellence in Teaching. Her most recent journal articles include “Abortion, Capital Punishment and the Politics of God’s Will,” in the December issue of the William and Mary Institute for the Bill of Rights Law Journal;“Provision and Exclusion: The Dual Face of Services to Battered Women in Three Deep South States,” in Violence Against Women (1999); and “A Passion to Punish: Abortion Opponents Who Favor the Death Penalty,” in Justice Quarterly (1998).

Cook, who holds a Ph.D. from University of New Hampshire, says she has had a professional interest in Australia for years. “It’s a very interesting country sociologically,” she says. “It seems to exhibit more commitment to social welfare than the U.S. in terms of health care coverage, rehabilitation programs and so forth. I want to see for myself if that’s true or just part of the mythology of Australia.”

Cook is the fourth USM faculty in recent years to win Fulbright Scholarships. Kathy Ashley, professor of English, spent a semester in Portugal in 1998 as a Fulbright Senior Lecturer at the University of Lisbon, which was her second Fulbright award; and also in 1998, Ken Rosen, professor of English, spent a semester in Bulgaria on a Fulbright award. Eileen Eagan, associate professor of history, Eagan won a Fulbright lecture grant to Monterey, Mexico in 1992.

The Fulbright Program, established in 1946 under legislation introduced by the late Senator J. William Fulbright, provides stipends for faculty, students and others to teach, conduct research and study abroad in nearly 130 countries. By providing opportunities for scholarly work abroad, the program aims to promote mutual understanding among countries and individuals.

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