Jill Gordon, Ph.D. serves as dean & professor at the Levin College of Public Affairs and Education at Cleveland State University. Previously, Gordon had a successful career at Virginia Commonwealth University where she held numerous leadership positions in the provost office as well as the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government & Public Affairs including interim senior vice provost for faculty affairs, senior associate dean of faculty and academic affairs, and chair of the criminal justice program.  She is credited for advancing equitable policies and practices and the advancement of women and people of color in the academy.   

Her areas of expertise center on procedural and distributive justice and the importance of clear communication, policies, and practice especially about the examination of confined environments.  Gordon’s research focus center on correctional employees and offenders’ attitudes toward environment and culture; emotional, social, and physical safety in the correctional environment; correctional program effectiveness, and correctional staff workforce perceptions. Gordon has vast experience in evaluation research covering both community and institutional corrections with most of this work being supported by federal, state or local funding.