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Denise Boots

Denise Boots

Associate Dean of Undergraduate Education
Professor of Public Policy and Political Economy
Minnie Stevens Piper Professor of Texas 2020 & UT System Regents' Outstanding Teacher
Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Urban Policy Research
 
972-883-6468
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Denise Boot's Webpage
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Professional Preparation

Ph.D. - Criminology
University of South Florida - 2006
M.A. - Criminology
University of South Florida - 2001
B.A. - Criminology
University of South Florida - 1995

Research Areas

Research Interests
 DENISE PAQUETTE BOOTS is a Professor of Public Policy and Political Economy and the Senior Research Fellow in the Institute for Urban Policy Research at the University of Texas at Dallas. She is a former U.S. Border Patrol Agent trainee, a Level 4 juvenile counselor for adjudicated youth and served as the past Program Head of the Criminology Program.  Her research agenda focuses on issues related to interpersonal violence, with a specific emphasis on domestic violence and homicide, child abuse and neglect, mental health, life-course criminology, neuropsychological vulnerabilities, capital punishment, gendered pathways to crime and victimization, parricide, and outcome and process evaluations of problem-solving courts and criminal justice programs. She has published one book, five book chapters, and approximately 30 peer-reviewed articles and has been an invited speaker or panelist for close to 100 professional presentations. Her professional community service activities include serving as the lead researcher and Executive Committee member for the City of Dallas Domestic Violence Taskforce, as an editorial board member for the respected journal Violence Against Women, and as the founding president and Executive Board member for Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society at UT Dallas. In 2010, she was awarded the University of Texas Board of Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award, one of the most selective and prestigious teaching awards in the country.  In 2016, she was awarded the Evelyn Gilbert Unsung Hero Award for her contributions to scholarship and teaching from the Minorities and Women Section of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences.  In May of 2016 she was awarded the UT Dallas President’s Teaching Excellence Award for tenured faculty.  Dr. Boots is frequently called upon as a consultant to various non-profit, government, and community organizations, is a court-certified expert on family violence, sexual assault, and parricide, and is regularly sought out by national and local media outlets regarding topics related to interpersonal violence. 
 Her publications provide critical discussion of key public policy implications relevant to criminological, social, and legal circles while varying methodologies, theoretical models, and methods of analyses.

Publications

Boots, D. P., and Wareham, J. 2012. A gendered view of violence. Invited book chapter for Routledge Handbook on Gender and Crime Studies, Routledge Press, Claire Renzetti, Susan Miller, and Angela Gover (Eds.) pp. 163-179. 2012 - Publication
Wareham, J., and Boots, D. P. 2012. The link between mental health problems and youth violence in children and adolescents: A multilevel test of DSM-oriented problems. Criminal Justice & Behavior, 39, 1003-1024. 2012 - Publication
Boots, D. P. , and Cochran, J. K. The gender gap in support for capital punishment: A test of attribution theory. Women & Criminal Justice, 21(3). 2011 - Publication
Gendered perspectives on depression and antisocial behaviors: An extension of the failure model in adolescent PHDCN girls and boys. Criminal Justice & Behavior, 38, 63-84. 2011 - Publication
Gender differences in mental health problems and violence among Chicago youth. Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, 9, 3-22. 2011 - Publication
Bingham, A., Cochran, J. K., Boots, D. P., & Heide, K. M. (2011). Public support for preventive/corrective remedies against miscarriages of justice in capital cases. Justice Quarterly DOI: 10.1080/07418825.2011.619560, 1-25. 2011 - Publication
Boots, D. P. 2011. Neurobiological perspectives of brain vulnerability in pathways to violence over the life-course. Invited book chapter in The Ashgate Research Companion To Biosocial Theories of Crime, K. M. Beaver and A. Walsh (Eds.) pp. 181-212. Burlington, VT: Ashgate Press. 2011 - Publication
Boots, D. P., and Wareham, J. Controlling for comorbidity matters: DSM-oriented scales and violent offending in Chicago cohorts. Aggressive Behavior, 35, 1-17. 2010 - Publication

Appointments

Professor of Public Policy & Political Economy
The University of Texas at Dallas [2018–Present]
Program Head of Program in Criminology
The University of Texas at Dallas [2016–2018]
EPPS
Associate Professor of Criminology
The University of Texas at Dallas [2010–2018]
EPPS
Associate Chair/Graduate Director
The University of Texas at Dallas [2009–2010]
EPPS
Assistant Professor
The University of Texas at Dallas [2006–2010]
EPPS
Adjunct Instructor
University of South Florida [2004–2006]
CAS
Assistant Undergraduate Advisor
University of South Florida [2004–2006]
CAS
Graduate Research Assistant
University of South Florida [2001–2004]
CAS
Adjunct Instructor
University of South Florida [2000–2001]
CAS
Level 4 Secure-Facility Juvenile Counselor
Family Continuity Program, Plant City, Florida [1999–1999]

Additional Information

Awards and Recognition
Feb 2018           Nominated for President’s Teaching Excellence Award in Online/Blended Instruction, UT Dallas
Jan 2018            Invited to become Honors Affiliate, Hobson Wildenthal Honors College, UT Dallas
Nov 2017          Invited Faculty by Delta Zeta Sorority for Teacher Appreciation Breakfast, UT Dallas
May 2017          Recipient of Love of Learning Award, National Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Feb 2017           Nominated for President’s Teaching Excellence Award in Online/Blended Instruction, UT Dallas
May 2016          Recipient of President’s Teaching Excellence Award for Tenured Faculty 2016, UT Dallas
Apr 2016           Recipient of Evelyn Gilbert Unsung Hero Award (for contributions to criminal justice education and scholarship concerning ethnicity, race, and gender in criminology and criminal justice),  Minorities & Women Section, Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences             
Apr 2016           Recipient of Comet Teaching Award, School of Economic, Political & Policy Sciences, UT Dallas
Nov 2015          Outstanding Faculty Invited Speaker for Tea Tuesday Luncheon, Women in Science Alliance/Galerstein Women’s Center, UT Dallas
Apr 2015           Recipient of Comet Teaching Award, School of Economic, Political & Policy Sciences, UT Dallas
Jan 2014-pres    Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Urban Policy Research, UT Dallas
Apr 2013           Recipient of Comet Teaching Award, School of Economic, Political & Policy Sciences, UT Dallas
Jan 2013-pres    Executive Committee Member, National Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, UT Dallas Chapter
Oct 2012           Recipient of University of South Florida Distinguished Alumni Award, Department of Criminology, Tampa, Florida
Fall 2012           Recipient of National Residential Housing Honorary Institution Faculty of the Month Award
2011-2013         Elected as Founding President and Charter Member, National Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, UT Dallas Chapter
2011-pres          Collegium V Honors Faculty, UT Dallas
2011-2012         Faculty Mentor to Terry Scholars Program, UT Dallas
2010-pres          Affiliated Faculty, Center for Children and Families, UT Dallas
Fall 2010           Invited Keynote Speaker, Terry Scholar Program Fall Banquet, UT Dallas
Fall 2010           ING Faculty Coach of the Game, UT Dallas Athletics
Fall 2010           Selected as UT Dallas Residential Senate Freshmen Faculty Spotlight Speaker, UT Dallas
Sept 2009          Recipient of University of Texas Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award (inaugural year)
Fall 2009           Selected as UT Dallas Residential Senate Freshmen Faculty Spotlight Speaker
Spring 2009       Nominated for Chancellor’s Council Outstanding Teaching Award, UT Dallas
Spring 2007      Nominated for Chancellor’s Council Outstanding Teaching Award, UT Dallas
2004-2006         Recipient of Pre-Doctoral Fellowship, National Consortium on Violence Research

Selected Peer-Reviewed Publications
  • Boots, D. P., Wareham, J., Martin, K. T., and *Barbieri, N. 2018. Preliminary evaluation of the Supervision with Immediate Enforcement (SWIFT) probation program for adult gang affiliated offenders in Texas. In press, Criminal Justice & Behavior, 45(7), 1047-1070.

    Wareham, J., Blackwell, B. S., Berry, B., and Boots, D. P. 2018. Effects of victim’s physical attractiveness on juristic judgments of blame and punishment in physical, domestic, and sexual assault scenarios. In press, Deviant Behavior. https://doi.org/10.1080/01639625.2018.1443877

    Boots, D. P., Mallicoat, S., and Wareham, J. 2018. Life or death: Using a real-world case to assess student death penalty opinion. Journal of Criminal Justice Education, 29(1), 39-61. https://doi.org/10.1080/10511253.2017.1341989

    Wagers, S. M., Wareham, J., and Boots, D. P. 2018. College students’ beliefs about domestic violence: A replication and extension. In press, Journal of Interpersonal Violence. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260517747606

    Boots, D. P., *Martinez, C., and LeBlanc, C. 2016. The evolution of criminal justice education and online curriculum for probation and parole professionals: Past, present and future challenges and considerations. Texas Probation 31(1) 12-18.

    Shetgiri, R., Boots, D. P., Lin, H., and Cheng, T. 2016. Predictors of weapon-related violence among Latino youth. Journal of Pediatrics 171, 277-282. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2015.12.008

    Boots, D. P., Wareham, J., *Bartula. A., and Canas, R. 2016. A comparison of the Batterer Intervention and Prevention Program to alternative court dispositions on 12-month recidivism. Violence Against Women 22(9) 1134-1157. DOI: 10.1177/1077801215618806

    *Bishopp. S. A., and Boots, D. P. 2014. Exposure to violence and suicide ideation among police officers: A general strain approach. Journal of Criminal Justice 42(6) 538-548. DOI: 10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2014.09.007

    Wareham, J., and Boots, D. P. 2012. The link between mental health problems and youth violence in children and adolescents: A multilevel test of DSM-oriented problems. Criminal Justice & Behavior 39 1003-1024.

     *Bingham, A., Cochran, J. K., Boots, D. P., and Heide, K. M.  2011. Public support for preventive/corrective remedies against miscarriages of justice in capital cases. Justice Quarterly 30(4) 594-618.

    Boots, D. P., Wareham, J., and *Weir, H. 2011. Gendered perspectives on depression and antisocial behaviors: An extension of the failure model in adolescent PHDCN girls and boys. Criminal Justice & Behavior 38(1) 63-84.

    Boots, D. P., and Cochran, J. K. 2011. The gender gap in support for capital punishment: A test of attribution theory. Women & Criminal Justice 21(3) 171-197.

    Wareham, J., and Boots, D. P.  2011. Gender differences in mental health problems and violence among Chicago youth. Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice 9(1) 3-22.

Selected Published Chapters in Edited Volumes
  • Boots, D. P., Gulledge, L., Bray, T., and Wareham, J. (accepted and in press December 2017). Coordinated community response: Toward a systematic response to domestic violence in an urban setting. Invited book chapter in Homicide and Violent Crime, volume 23 of Sociology of Crime, Law and Deviance Series, Emerald Publishers, Mathieu Deflem, (Ed.).

    Wareham, J., Berry, B., Blackwell, B. S., and Boots, D. P. (accepted and in press 2017). The impact of victim attractiveness on victim blameworthiness and defendant guilt determinations in cases of domestic and sexual assault. Invited book chapter in Physical Appearance and Crime: How Appearance Affects Crime and the Crime Control Process, Oxford University Press, Bonnie Berry, (Ed.).

    Boots, D. P., and Wareham, J. 2012. A gendered view of violence. Invited book chapter in Routledge Handbook on Gender and Crime Studies, Routledge Press, Claire Renzetti, Susan Miller, and Angela Gover (Eds.) pp. 163-179.

    Boots, D. P. 2011. Neurobiological perspectives of brain vulnerability in pathways to violence over the life-course. Invited book chapter in The Ashgate Research Companion To Biosocial Theories of Crime, K. M. Beaver and A. Walsh (Eds.) pp. 181-212. Burlington, VT: Ashgate Press.

News Articles

Public Policy, Engineering Professors Receive National Honors
Public Policy, Engineering Professors Receive National Honors Dr. Denise Paquette Boots, professor of public policy and political economy at The University of Texas at Dallas, became president of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS) in March during the group’s annual conference in Las Vegas.
Killings Leave Sorrow, Questions
“Friends and family of suicide victims, as well as people who kill family members, are often taken by surprise,” said Dr. Denise Paquette Boots, an associate professor of criminology at University of Texas at Dallas. “Not everybody is going to ask to be saved. We're so analytical after the fact, but on an average day all of us do numerous things that don't make any sense.”
Experts See Flags, Flaws in Gardner's Case File
Denise Paquette Boots is an assistant professor of criminology at the University of Texas at Dallas. Her research focus includes youth violence, homicide and domestic violence.

“Successful treatment depends on receptivity on the part of the offender. The report says he was a poor candidate because he took no responsibility for his actions. It’s very difficult to adequately address the mechanisms of his sexual drive without him honestly admitting it.

“When I look at the sentence he got, it doesn’t surprise me at all. I’m not minimizing what happened, but it wasn’t a rape, so the handling of the case was not that unusual. Considering that this is his first-time offense, I’m honestly surprised he did so much of the term.
It Can, and Does, Happen Here
“Even though you have a far greater chance of being killed in a car crash than you do of being a victim of violent crime, when it happens, it’s extremely tragic and leaves a wound in your community,” said Denise Paquette Boots, a criminologist at the University of Texas at Dallas. “It shatters your sense of well-being.”
Regents' Awards Extol Work of 4 Instructors
Four UT Dallas professors have been selected as the inaugural recipients of the UT System Board of Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Awards

Dr. Denise Paquette Boots, Dr. Anthony Champagne, Dr. Michael Kilgard and Dr. Paul Stanford join 73 faculty members from system’s nine academic institutions in sharing $2 million in awards for doing an exemplary job in college classrooms.

The awards, which range from $15,000 to $30,000 depending on level of experience, are believed to be among the highest in the country for rewarding outstanding undergraduate faculty performance and innovation.

Affiliations

Center for Children and Families
University of Texas at Dallas, School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences Dr. Margaret Tresch Owen, Director
Honors Affiliate Faculty, Collegium V
2018/12