USM Prof gets Fulbright to Australia

Editor’s Note: USM Professor Kim Cook, a resident of Portland, can be reached through December 20 at 780-4399.

Kim Cook, associate professor of criminology at the University of Southern Maine, has won a prestigious Fulbright Scholarship that will take her in January to Australia, where she will study alternatives to incarceration of criminals, especially juveniles. Cook is one of just a handful of scholars out of a field of some 65 applicants to win a Fulbright to Australia, one of the most competitive countries for the scholarship.

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 exploring “restorative justice” programs that are considered a promising alternative to jail terms.
Her specific proposal is to study restorative justice programs that include “shaming” ceremonies in which the offender takes responsibility for the offense and 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 alternative justice systems, 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 is the author of a 1998 book “Divided Passions: Public Opinions on Abortion and the Death Penalty,” published by Northeastern University Press. She has received 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 earned her Ph.D. from the 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.”

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.