Leslie Gordon Simons

Dr. Leslie Gordon Simons, Professor of Sociology and Distinguished Scholar with the Owen's Institute of Social and Behavioral Research, joined the University of Georgia faculty in 2002. She has previously held faculty appointments in the Department of Sociology at Clemson University, the School of Criminology at Arizona State University and the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at UGA. 

Leslie's primary areas of expertise are Family, Criminology, and Gender. Her program of research focuses on the socio-contextual predictors and consequences of various family processes as well as the mediators and moderators of the relationship between experiences in the family of origin and outcomes for adolescents and emerging adults. Specifically, she examines the intergenerational transmission of problem behaviors and the mechanisms that link family processes to behavioral outcomes such as delinquency, intimate partner violence, and risky sex, with emphasis on gender differences.

Her work has been published in top journals in sociology (e.g., American Sociological Review, Social Forces, Journal of Health & Social Behavior) as well as her areas of specialization including family (e.g., Journal of Marriage and Family, Journal of Family Psychology), crime & deviance (e.g., Criminology, Journal of Interpersonal Violence), gender (Sex Roles, Violence Against Women), and adolescent development (e.g., Journal of Youth and Adolescence, Youth & Society). She frequently collaborates with graduate student co-authors on her publications.

Leslie is principal investigator on an NSF-funded project examining the social and economic impact of COVID on African Americans and is a co-Investigator on over $20 million in funding for the the Family and Community Health Study, a multi-site, longitudinal project funded by the National Institutes on Health and the Centers for Disease Control. She is a Deputy Editor of Feminist Criminology, serves on the editorial board of Journal of Youth and Adolescence, represents the Department of Sociology on the Franklin Faculty Senate and is a member of UGA's Teaching Academy. She also holds affiliate faculty status in the Criminal Justice Studies program and the Institute of Women's Studies.

In addition to teaching graduate and undergraduate courses on Sociology of Family, Family Violence and Intimate Relationships, Leslie frequently mentors students in independent/directed studies and CURO projects, including honor's theses.