John Dussich
Professor Emeritus
Office: Science II, Area C, Room 142
Phone: (559) 278-6046
Email Dr. Dussich
Educational Background
(all from Florida State University)
- Bachelor of Science Degree in Clinical Psychology—1960
- Master of Science Degree in Corrections and Criminology—1963
- Ph.D. in Sociology and Criminology—1975
Teaching and Research Specialties
His early specialties focused on prison
administration, work release, youth adventure programs and media
violence. In 1973 he began writing and studying in the new field of
victimology, a result of having been mentored by Stephen
Schafer, one of the pioneers in this emerging discipline.
His specialties within victimology have centered on
- victim advocacy
- program development
- victimization studies
- elderly victims
- spouse abuse
- child abuse
- the use of volunteers in victim assistance
- non-reporting of sexual assault, and
- abuse of power.
He created the victim advocate concept and
established
the first program in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in 1974. He is
the founder of the National Organization for Victim Assistance
which was launched in Fresno in 1976.
Founding Secretary General of the World Society of
Victimology which was launched in Munster, Germany in
1979
He was instrumental in the founding of the American Society of Victimology just launched in Kansas City, Kansas in January 2003.
He served in the Military Police Corps of the US Army 29 years retiring in 1993 at the rank of Colonel. His major theoretical work was the creation of the Social Coping Model in 1982 which he has since used to explain the etiology of victimization as well as to explain the process of recovery.
He is fluent in Italian, German, Spanish and also speaks Japanese. He has taught, conducted research and delivered victim services in Germany, Italy, Croatia, Bosnia, Israel, Japan, El Salvador, Guatemala, Panama, Venezuela, Argentina, Colombia, Taiwan, India, Nepal and China. As a crisis intervener, he has responded to victims of crime since 1978, the Kobe earthquake in Japan 1995, the Bosnian post war crisis in 1996, the January San Salvador earthquake in El Salvador in 2001, the aftermath of the 9/11 attack on New York City in 2001, Indonesia-the Great Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami of 2004.
Courses Taught
- Crim 100-Criminology
- Crim 140-Domestic Violence
- Crim 160T-Elder Abuse
- Crim 175-Victimology
- Crim 176-Victim Services
- Crim 182-Internship in Victimology
- Crim 190-Victimology Independent Study
- Crim 192-Readings in Victimology
- Crim 270T-Issues in International Victimology
- Crim 275-Victimology and Social Change
- Crim 298-Law Enforcement Masters' Project
