Campus News 2007-2008

Soros Fellow Susan Phillips Takes on Failures of U.S. Criminal Justice System

Susan Phillips, academic director of the Pitzer in Ontario Program and Assistant Professor in Environmental Studies, has been named one of eighteen fellows awarded more than $1 million to reform indigent defense, reduce juvenile incarceration and improve prison conditions.

"I feel very honored to have been chosen for this award, as I have admired the work of the Soros Foundation in the criminal justice arena for many years. I hope that I can use this time to construct my book and accompanying publications in a way that will further the struggle for justice and change," Phillips said.

"This is a well deserved honor for Susan. We are proud that she has been recognized for her fine work in the area of social justice by receiving the prestigious Soros Fellowship," Dean Alan Jones said.

As part of her Soros Justice Fellowship, Phillips will complete Operation Fly Trap: Gangs, Drugs and the Law, a book examining how federal policies directed at combating drugs and gangs actually generate and sustain the conditions that perpetuate poverty, crime, and violence in communities of color.

With Pitzer College since 2002, Phillips has previously served as the CCCSI (Center for California Cultural Issues) Director and as a Faculty Associate in Urban Studies.