Where Are They Now? Dr. Jessie Slepicka

Dr. Jessie Slepicka grew up on a chicken and sheep farm in Niwot, Colorado, and his experiences growing up ultimately led to a doctoral degree and a position as a professor in the Sociology and Criminology Department at the University of Montana.

His parents, Jerry and Marsha Slepicka, moved to Niwot in 1990, where they built their log home on 79th Street.

The Slepicka family was active in Niwot Nifties (the oldest 4-H club in Boulder County), school clubs, athletics, and honor society, where Jerry and Marsha taught their children and others to volunteer and give back to the community at an early age.

Jessie Slepicka learned to care for chickens and restore old tractors as part of 4-H Club project activities, which taught him and his siblings responsibility, patience, and persistence.

At 15, he ran an egg business with his twin brother on their 2-acre hobby farm for nearly a decade. He also won ribbons in baking at the Boulder County Fair, volunteered, and baked cookies with the Niwot Cookie Moms, who mailed cookies to U.S. troops overseas.

After graduating from Niwot High School, Slepicka attended the University of Northern Colorado (UNC), graduating summa cum laude with a B.A., in Criminal Justice in 2017, followed by a M.A. in Criminology and Criminal Justice in 2019.

While attending the University of Northern Colorado, Slepicka was on the Dean's List of Academic Distinction and received the Walt Francis Award in Criminal Justice. He also received awards for Excellence in Criminal Justice, Outstanding Undergraduate and Graduate Student Recognition, and Research Excellence Awards in Social Sciences.

Slepicka gained professional experience at UNC while holding positions as a Graduate Teaching Assistant and Graduate Research Assistant for the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, and the Department of Sociology and Criminology. Slepicka also spent one year at the U.S. Department of Justice, Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Division, as an Independent Statistical Reviewer.

Upon graduation from the University of Northern Colorado, he was presented with the Graduate Dean's Citation for Excellence and Outstanding Thesis, which is an award given to graduate students who have demonstrated exceptional achievement in their studies.

After obtaining his master's degree, he spent the next five years at The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) pursuing his Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Criminology. While attending Penn State, he held the position of Doctoral Research Assistant for the Department of Sociology and Criminology until receiving his PhD in 2024.

Slepicka's research interests include Criminological and Sociological Theory, Social Change-Differentiation and Crime, Green Criminology and Environmental Sociology, Comparative and Cross-National Social Science, Spatial and Environmental Criminology, Sociology of Crime and Delinquency, Life Course Criminology, and Quantitative Research Methods and Statistics.

His research has been published in peer-reviewed outlets such as the Criminology, Criminal Justice, Law & Society, Journal of Crime and Justice, Deviant Behavior, Journal of Interpersonal Violence, Journal of Criminal Justice, Sociology of Education, Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, Federal Probation, and Criminal Justice and Behavior.

Slepicka and his wife relocated to Missoula, Montana this year, where he is now an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology and Criminology at the University of Montana, a position that began this fall.