Faculty – Sociology & Criminology

Dr. Kevin Bryant is Professor and Chair of Sociology and Criminology at Benedictine College. He received his Ph.D. in sociology with an emphasis in criminology from the University of Tennessee in 1997. In 2015, he completed a study funded by the Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance’s Smart Policing Initiative, examining the Shawnee (KS) Police Department’s implementation of Data-Driven Approaches to Crime and Traffic Safety (DDACTS). Recently, he and the 29th Judicial Circuit Court (Jasper County, Missouri) received funding through the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program to evaluate the effectiveness of their drug and co-occurring disorders courts during the two year project. Dr. Bryant is certified in Advanced Crime Mapping by the National Institute of Justice. He is a member of the American Society of Criminology, the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, and is Past President of the Midwestern Criminal Justice Association.

Dr. Smith received his PhD in sociology and demography from Penn State University in 2023. Prior to his graduate training in sociology, Dr. Smith obtained his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social work. He spent several years in south-central Indiana working in the fields of mental health, addictions treatment, and child services.

Dr. Smith’s research interests are diverse, focusing on such topics as religious nationalism, moral development, and the transmission of faith between generations. His work has been published in journals such as Sociology of Religion, Journal of Marriage and Family, Socius, and Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion

Known to her students as “K Wood,” Karen is devoted to helping her students develop the Sociological Imagination in all that they do. Karen’s previous work as both a Missionary and as a Pastoral Associate as well as her vocation as a wife and mother lend a great deal of experience to Karen’s professional life as a sociologist.

Her research interests include: the Sociology of Religion, particularly the Catholic call of the New Evangelization as it relates to culture; Popular Culture, particularly its historical progression and influence upon Youth Culture; Marriage and Family, both macro and micro understandings; and the Sociology of Race Relations and the Construction of Ethnic Identities, particularly the unique Black American experience and its diverse and divergent expressions.

Karen loves “talking sociology” and witnessing students reach their potential both in and out of the classroom.

Lucia is an attorney, practical theologian, television and radio host, and co-founder of Family Renewal Ministries, Inc. (Renovación Familiar), a ministry dedicated to promoting and defending marriage, family, and the human person in God’s plan. She has produced multiple articles, resources and materials on marriage preparation, marriage and family enrichment, and gender ideology. She has presented extensively in the United States, Latin America and Europe and has lead hundreds of retreats and trainings in her areas of expertise. Lucia has served as director of Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth Ministry and Intercultural Ministries in various archdioceses in the nation. She serves as a member of the Our Sunday Visitor Institute’s Hispanic Experience Think Tank and served as collaborator and consultant to several Catholic publishers and entities on Hispanic marriage and family life and interculturality, including various Secretariats of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

From an early age, Mr. Stevens was fascinated by maps and was curious about the world beyond the borders of his small home town in Kansas.  He has worked in a variety of occupations but teaching, learning, and service have been central elements throughout his career.  Mr. Stevens has taught geography, healthcare administration, and substance abuse program management courses and seminars at the college and adult learning levels.

Mr. Stevens is currently a Department of Defense employee who serves as the Deputy to the Commander for Quality and Safety, Munson Army Health Center, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.  He has oversight of Patient Safety, Performance Improvement, Accreditation and Compliance, Patient Advocacy, Risk Management, Infection Prevention and Control, Credentials and Privileges, and Facility Safety.

In 2020, Mr. Stevens retired from the Air Force/Air National Guard after 37 years of service.  During his final military assignment, he was the Air National Guard Medical Forces Advisor to the Air Force Surgeon General, Headquarters Air Force, Falls Church, Virginia.  His diverse career includes assignments in international affairs and human resources in addition to healthcare.  His other key positions include: Commander, 175th Medical Group; Deputy Commander, 190th Medical Group; the first Bilateral Affairs Officer, Office of Defense Cooperation, U.S. Embassy, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia; Chief, Military Equal Opportunity; Substance Abuse Program Manager—Air National Guard, Counterdrug Directorate, National Guard Bureau; Water Quality Coordinator; Senior Aerospace Science Instructor, Oakland Mills High School; English teacher, Osawatomie High School.

Mr. Stevens is board certified in healthcare management as a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE) and is a Certified Patient Experience Professional (CPXP).  He received the 2015 Air National Guard Medical Service Corps Commitment to Service Award and was recognized as the 2005 Air National Guard Outstanding Global Health Officer.

Dr. Currie Myers has a combined 35 years of professional experience as a state trooper, special agent, sheriff, criminologist, consultant, professor, university executive, and business executive. Dr. Myers ended his law enforcement career as the sheriff of Johnson County, Kansas which serves a population of more than 650,000 citizens in the Kansas City Metropolitan area and is one of the largest sheriffs’ offices in the Midwest with nearly 750 employees and a jail population of approximately 1,000 inmates. He is a nationally recognized expert in criminal justice public policy as well as organizational management and leadership and has spoken at more than 1,000 local, state, and national conferences. He is an expert witness in both state and Federal court and has testified on numerous occasions. Prior to being sheriff, Dr. Myers was a special agent with the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI), a state trooper with the Kansas Highway Patrol (KHP) and a Department of Defense consultant for the Wexford Group International.

Academically, Dr. Myers has developed and taught more than 25 courses at both the undergraduate and graduate level including disciplines within criminal justice, criminology, organizational management, leadership, ethics, business, and in the humanities. As a former senior university executive (school dean and associate vice president), he has rolled out new degree programs, new product lines and program concepts, conducted program reviews, and has development outcomes-based, applied learning curriculum in various forms of modality.

Dr. Myers is a Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) Practitioner and has been a lead consultant in hundreds of security and public safety related projects, to include design, implementation, logistics, administration and operations. In 2016 Dr. Myers was named a Vice President with The Kincaid Group, a transportation and technology services consortium. In January of 2020, he moved into a consulting role with the Group and now operates his own consulting firm, called Sheriff Myers & Associates (SMA).