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Faculty and Staff of Norwich University
Associate Professor
Criminal Justice
Associate Director, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice

Portrait photo of Elizabeth Gurian

Elizabeth Gurian holds a Bachelor of Science in human physiology from Boston University, a Master of Science in criminal justice from Northeastern University, and a doctorate from the University of Cambridge.

Before joining Norwich University, Gurian completed a consultancy for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in Vienna. This project entailed assisting the Division of Policy Analysis and Public Affairs, Statistics and Surveys Section, with research for a planned global report on the crime of intentional homicide. The report provides in-depth analysis of homicide trends at national, regional and global levels.

Gurian is now an associate professor of criminology and criminal justice. She is also the associate director of the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice. She has previously won the Board of Fellows Prize and Dana Category I grants in recognition of her teaching, scholarship and service, and an award for excellence in mentoring at Norwich University.In 2013, she was also awarded the Peggy R. Williams Emerging Professional Award from the Vermont Women in Higher Education.

Her research focuses on multicide (serial and mass) offenders, lone actor terrorists, and mass shooters and was awarded an American Association of University Women publication grant for her work exploring adjudication and outcomes patterns. Her book, “Serial and mass murder: Understanding multicide through offending patterns, explanations, and outcomes” is published through Routledge. She has also discussed her work through such media as BBC Radio, Vermont Public Radio, WCAX-TV, CHannel 3, and The New York Times and CBS podcast, “Why Women Kill.

Gurian serves on Norwich’s Faculty Development Committee, and she teaches courses on research methods, courts, criminal violence, senior seminar, and the death penalty. When she’s not researching or teaching, she enjoys travel, kayaking, and snow shoeing.

Publications:

Gurian, E.A., & Woodbury Tease, A. (2020) Shadow and substance: an examination of capital punishment through the lens of the Twilight Zone and Black Mirror. JCJPC, 20(1): 43- 58.

Gurian E.A. (2018). Offending, adjudication, and outcome patterns of solo male, solo female, and partnered mass murderers. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 62(7): 1906-1924.

Gurian, E.A. (2017). Reframing serial murder within empirical research: offending and adjudication patterns of male, female, and partnered serial killers. IJOTCC, 61(5): 544- 560.

Gurian E.A. (2015). Lawyers’ perceptions of female homicide offenders. Violence and Gender, ​2(1): 41-50.

Gurian, E.A. (2013). Explanations of mixed-sex partnered serial homicide: a review of sociological and psychological theory. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 18(5): 520-526.

Me, A., Bisogno, E., Malby, S., Jandl, M., Davis, P., Pysden, C., Rahmonberdiev, U., Reiterer, F., Gurian, E., Vieira, C.M., Aziani, A., Cenci, M., Gibbons, J., Kunnen, S. & Kuttnig, K. (2011). 2011 Global Study on Homicide: Trends, Contexts, Data. United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime: Vienna.

Gurian, E.A. (2011). Female serial murderers: directions for future research on a hidden population. IJOTCC, 55(1): 27-42

Gurian E.A., Kinnamon D.D., Henry J.J., & Waisbren S.E. (2006). Expanded newborn screening for biochemical disorders: the effect of a false-positive result. Pediatrics, 117(6):1915-1921

School of Criminology and Criminal Justice

Criminal Justice Academic Programs—Undergraduate Bachelor's and Master of Science Degree

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