Doctoral Student Bios

Constantus Akuma-Zanu

Policing, Procedural Justice, Comparative Criminal Justice, and Policy/Program Evaluation

Constantus Akuma-Zanu is a doctoral student in the Department of Criminology, Law and Society at George Mason University. He received his M.S. in Criminal Justice from Illinois State University. He also received an MPhil (Sociology) and a B.A. (Sociology and Social Work) from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana. He worked as a high school teacher and a lecturer at a college in Ghana. His research interests include policing, procedural justice, comparative criminal justice, and program/policy evaluation.

Selected Publications

Bell, C., Craig, M., Hughes, C., Franklin, S. & Akuma-Zanu, C., (2025) “The Cost of Challenging School Seclusion and Restraint Practices for Parents of Black and White Children with Disabilities”, Disability Studies Quarterly 44(4). doi: https://doi.org/10.18061/dsq.6665

Grants and Fellowships

College of Applied Science and Technology (CAST) Student Travel Award, 2024 - Illinois State University

Department of Criminal Justice Sciences Travel Grant, 2024 - Illinois State University

Graduate Merit Fellowship Award, 2023 - Illinois State University

Education

M.S., Criminal Justice - Illinois State University (2025)

M.Phil., Sociology - Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (2019)

B.A., Sociology and Social Work - Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (2015)

Recent Presentations

Akuma-Zanu, C. & Rossler, M. (2024, September 26-27). “The Impact of Race and Ethnicity on Police Officer Retention [Conference presentation abstract]. Forty-seventh Annual Meeting of the Midwestern Criminal Justice Association, Chicago, IL, United States.