Pamela D. Schultz

Pamela D. Schultz is a Professor of Communication Studies at the Department of Communication Studies, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, Alfred University. Her research focuses on moral panic, public policy, and legal implications of sexual offenses, particularly child sexual abuse and the societal treatment of sex offenders. She holds a BA in Communication Arts and English from Oakland University (1984), an MA in Mass Communication from Bowling Green State University (1986), and a PhD in Communication from Wayne State University (1994).

• Education:
  • BA: Communication Arts and English, Oakland University, 1984
  • MA: Mass Communication, Bowling Green State University, 1986
  • PhD: Communication, Wayne State University, 1994

Her research interests include moral panic dynamics, forensic psychiatry failures, and the rhetoric of retribution in legal systems. She critiques punitive policies toward sex offenders, advocating for rehabilitative approaches. Her work spans interdisciplinary collaborations with legal scholars and psychologists, addressing societal narratives around child sexual abuse and the ethical dimensions of criminal justice.

Her publications analyze topics like Asperger’s syndrome and child pornography, the stigmatization of sex offenders, and religious institutions’ roles in moral panics. Her 2005 book Not Monsters explores narratives of child molesters and has been translated into Korean and Japanese.

Though no scientific awards are explicitly listed, her extensive publications reflect significant contributions to communication ethics and criminological discourse.