Kevin Barnes-Ceeney

Kevin Barnes-Ceeney is the Oskar Schindler Humanities Endowed Associate Professor and Assistant Chair of Criminal Justice in the Criminal Justice Department at the University of New Haven's Henry C. Lee College of Criminal Justice and Forensic Sciences. He teaches undergraduate courses including Administrative Evil, Community Supervision and Treatment, Pimps Pushers and Perverts, and Race Class Gender issues in criminal justice, as well as doctoral-level Rational Models of Crime. In 2021, he received the University of New Haven's Excellence in Teaching award, and in 2023 was named to the prestigious Oskar Schindler Humanities Endowed Professorship.

Dr. Barnes-Ceeney earned his Doctor of Philosophy from The Graduate Center, City University of New York John Jay College of Criminal Justice in 2013, with a dissertation on Negotiating labyrinths of risk. He also holds a Master of Arts in Criminal Justice from John Jay College (2008), a Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) in Community Justice from University of Wales College Newport (2001), and a Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) in English and American Literature from University of Kent at Canterbury (1992).

His research focuses on community corrections, trauma-informed justice interventions, and the role of forgiveness following violence. His work spans post-genocide recovery in Rwanda, juvenile justice reforms in the Caribbean, violence risk assessment tools in Jamaica used to assess over 10,000 individuals, and trust-building to reduce gun violence in New Haven. He has developed neuroscience-based social resilience training programs for police, mental health professionals, and social workers, which he has facilitated for nearly a decade. His current research examines the experiences of men with incarcerated spouses and mental health needs of incarcerated genocide perpetrators.

• University of New Haven's Excellence in Teaching award (2021)
• Oskar Schindler Humanities Endowed Professorship (2023)

Dr. Barnes-Ceeney has supervised nearly 30 student-led projects, with students presenting at national conferences. He chaired doctoral committees for Ewa Zielinska and Penny Geyer, and mentored numerous master's and undergraduate theses. He recently received a grant from the City of New Haven's Department of Community Resilience to evaluate collaboration between agencies working to reduce gun violence. His extensive grant work includes a five-year evaluation of juvenile justice reforms in Caribbean nations and development of violence risk assessment tools with the Inter-American Development Bank.

He co-facilitates Social Resilience training programs that teach neuroscience-based skills to improve well-being and resilience for professionals working in high-stress environments. As part of his Schindler Professorship, he teaches 'After Violence,' exploring how individuals and communities heal after violence, and develops experiential programs on forgiveness and resilience with the Office of Residential Life.