Professor
Office: Wilson Hall, Room 112
Office Phone: 724-357-5610
Email: amerlo@iup.edu
Degrees/Schools
PhD Sociology, Fordham University, 1980
MS Criminal Justice, Northeastern University, 1975
BA Sociology, Youngstown State University, 1971
Areas of Interest
Juvenile Justice, Criminal Justice Policy, Women and the Law
Biography
Professor Merlo joined the IUP faculty in 1995. Her current research interests include juvenile justice, criminal justice policy, and women and the law.
Merlo's most recent publications include The Juvenile Justice System: Delinquency, Processing and the Law (2019), 9th Edition, co-authored with Peter J. Benekos, and Reaffirming Juvenile Justice: From Gault to Montgomery (2017), Other books include, Controversies in Juvenile Justice and Delinquency (2009) 2nd Edition, co-edited with Peter J. Benekos; Crime Control, Politics, and Policy (2006), 2nd Edition, co-edited with Joycelyn M. Pollock. Since 2015, she also co-authored three book chapters and eight articles that appeared in the Journal of Criminal Justice Education, Criminal Justice Policy Review, Trauma, Violence & Abuse, Women & Criminal Justice, Police Practice and Research, the Asian Journal of Criminology, and The Prison Journal.
Merlo is the past president of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS). She is the recipient of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences Fellow Award, Founder's Award, and the Outstanding Mentor Award. Merlo received the ACJS Minorities and Women's Section Coramae Richey Mann Leadership Award, the IUP College of Health and Human Services Outstanding Senior Researcher Award in 2017, and the Dean's Outstanding Researcher Award for the College of Health and Human Services.
Merlo gave the University of Southern Indiana College of Liberal Arts 2018 Distinguished Scholar Lecture, and the Virginia Commonwealth University L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs 2015 Distinguished Scholar Lecture.
She was interviewed for the Oral History of Criminology Project.
Merlo serves on the editorial boards of Crime and Delinquency, the International Journal of Police Science and Management, Women & Criminal Justice, and the Salus Journal.