Dr. Jordan Grasso

(they/them)

Assistant Professor in Ethics, Law and Social Justice

Contact Information

Office: Building 47, Rm. 25H

Email: jgrasso@calpoly.edu

 

Fields

  • Law and Society / Sociolegal Studies
  • Critical Criminology
  • Media and Public Opinion
  • Law Reform and Abolition
  • Policing
  • Social Control

 

Courses

 

  • ISLA 3320: Issues in Values, Media and Culture
  • ISLA 3355: Interdisciplinary Research Methods
  • ISLA 4440: Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies Seminar
  • ISLA 4480: Career Preparation for Interdisciplinary Studies Majors

 

Education

  • Ph.D. Criminology, Law and Society, University of California Irvine
  • M.A. Sociological Practice, California State University San Marcos
  • B.A. Criminology and Justice Studies, California State University San Marcos
  • A.A. General Studies in Social & Behavioral Sciences and Arts & Humanities, Palomar Community College

 

Selected Publications

  • Grasso, Jordan, Bryan Moore, Stacie Merken, and Meredith Worthen. Forthcoming. “Rising Hostility, Rising Harm: Violent Victimization of LGBTQ People Before and After 2020.” Victims & Offenders.
  • Foote, Carrie, Phoenix Schlebecker, Jordan Grasso, Courtney Harris, and Nathan Cisneros. 2026. “No Risk, Severe Consequence: Hepatitis C Criminalization in Indiana Involves Only Non-Transmissible Acts.” AIDS and Behavior. [Link]
  • Grasso, Jordan, and Caro A. Mooney. 2026. “The Role of Police Perceptions of Gender Variance in California Police Stops: A Research Note.” Criminology. [Link]
  • Grasso, Jordan, and Ilan Meyer. 2026. “Physical Attacks Against Transgender Adults in the United States: Findings from the 2022 U.S. Trans Survey.” Los Angeles, CA: The Williams Institute. [Link]
  • Grasso, Jordan, Keyanna Taylor, and Nathan Cisneros. 2026. “HIV Stigma is Pervasive and Increasing in the United States.” Los Angeles, CA: The Williams Institute. [Link]
  • Cisneros, Nathan, Jordan Grasso, and Brad Sears. 2026. “HIV Criminalization and Black Americans.” Los Angeles, CA: The Williams Institute. [Link]
  • Grasso, Jordan, and Ilan Meyer. 2025. “Violence and Harassment Against Transgender Adults in California.” Los Angeles, CA: The Williams Institute. [Link]
  • Grasso, Jordan, Stefan Vogler, Emily Greytak, Casey Kindall, and Valerie Jenness. 2024. “Policing Progress: Findings from a National Survey Of LGBTQ+ People’s Experiences with Law Enforcement.” New York, NY: American Civil Liberties Union. [Link]

For more on Dr. Grasso’s scholarship, see jordangrasso.com.

About Dr. JOrdan Grasso:

Dr. Grasso (they/them) joined the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies in Liberal Arts in Fall 2026. They earned their Ph.D. in Criminology, Law and Society from the University of California, Irvine, with additional emphases in Feminist Studies and Law, Society, and Culture. After their doctoral studies, they joined the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law as a Policy Research Analyst, where they authored more than a dozen quantitative and qualitative research reports examining HIV criminalization as well as LGBTQ people’s experiences of violence and policing. Their research has informed policy discussions and advocacy efforts at the federal, state, and local levels, including here in California.

At Cal Poly, Dr. Grasso continues to research and teach about the exercise of state power through law and processes of criminalization, with particular attention to the policing of minoritized communities and alternative approaches to safety and justice. Their work examines how law and other institutions define and regulate social difference, how these processes shape experiences of safety and violence, and whether interventions that claim to promote safety actually produce safer outcomes. More broadly, their scholarship challenges taken-for-granted understandings of “public safety,” asking whether approaches rooted in carcerality meaningfully improve safety across diverse populations and communities. Dr. Grasso’s research has been cited in mainstream media outlets, including The Advocate, Los Angeles Blade, LAist, and the Orange County Register.

As a former transfer student and CSU graduate, Dr. Grasso is passionate about supporting students as they discover their interests and develop their own academic and professional paths. They particularly enjoy mentoring students as they pursue their own research questions and interests.

In their free time, Dr. Grasso enjoys kayaking, reading in the sun, and hanging out with their dog, Rocco.

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