Paul H. O’Neill Professor Eric Grommon is always thinking about how he can contribute to solving complex problems through research.
“Any time I’m in a meeting, I’m the one in the corner taking notes, trying to document any topic I can circle back on,” he says. “Seemingly small comments can open up new questions that I just want to dive into.”
He spends time thinking through what practitioners have said in meetings or what he’s heard from justice-involved individuals during interviews. Those questions fuel his research and evaluation on justice system policy, practice, and operations.
One of his most recent projects involves working with the Monroe County, Indiana, prosecutor to examine the role prosecutorial decision making has on racial inequities within the criminal justice system.
“It’s not every day you get an open invitation to sit at a table with people who are making important reform decisions,” he says. “My job is to figure out how they arrive at those decisions, to talk to them about what policy or practice looks like, and to find ways to help them measure the outcomes from their ideas.”
While his work is helping organizations and communities around Indiana and beyond, Grommon didn’t plan on getting into research. As a first-generation college student, he wasn’t sure what he wanted to do. His plan fluctuated—first forensics then criminal justice then engineering then law.
But he says it was a faculty member who set him on his current path. They had noticed his potential in the research arena—and told him it was something he could pursue. So, Grommon says they nudged him to apply for research internships with the Illinois State Police and then the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority.
“That changed direction for me altogether,” he recalls. “Law school was no longer on the table. I was interested in research.”
During his internships, his coworkers provided mentorship that helped guide him into advancing his education. He earned his master’s degree and was then offered the chance to stay to complete his Ph.D.
After earning his degrees, he initially looked for research work within law enforcement and government agencies across the country—then another nudge came.
“All of a sudden, a job opportunity came up at IU Indianapolis,” he says. “Colleagues told me O’Neill seemed to be a place that would embrace opportunities for me to work with practitioners and to figure out how the justice system impacts the community. They thought I might be a good fit.”
And they were right. More than a decade later, Grommon is still at O’Neill, using lessons rooted in his current research to teach students who can help improve the justice system in the future.
“It took that nudging from faculty members for me to figure out where I was going on the lazy river of indecision,” he says with a smile. “It took some people opening doors for me and telling me that I was good at something for me to actually pursue it.”
He says, now, he’s in a position to do that for others—for the students he works with on research and those he has in class.
What do you enjoy about teaching?
“Having a teaching role gives me that opportunity to say, ‘Here’s all the different internship opportunities, and job opportunities.’ It also allows me to tell my story about not knowing what I wanted to do and how it took some nudges to put me on this route. Students often think college and a career are a linear path—you show up and then you are what you thought you were going to be. But the reality is that it can be really messy.”
“I do enjoy seeing how a topic clicks for students or to see when they’re so pumped to come back and talk about a conversation they had with a practitioner, or to hear how their thoughts about something like policing have changed during their time here, or that their experiences have motivated them to become a police officer. I think those types of moments are great.
“I like when students come into a classroom with set ideas of how they think the criminal justice system works, and then to see them evolve to be able to understand other viewpoints by the end of the semester. They understand they can have their own opinions and views but also can see what the other side thinks, and they realize they have to find a middle ground to move forward—that’s my favorite part in the classroom. My hope is always that we can see the many layers of gray within the criminal justice system and understand there is a lot of room for improvement.”
Why is it important to incorporate students into your research work?
“I try to place students into research opportunities. I start every semester by talking them through what I’m working on and offering them the chance to shadow, sit in on a Zoom meeting, help with literature reviews—it’s really on students to carve out this degree however they want to. Sometimes, I’ll have opportunities where research sponsors have provided a little bit of money that I can even hire student support.”
“For our students, being involved in research allows them to practice trying to find their voice, trying to gain some confidence, trying to take these abstract ideas we talk about in classes and apply them and see that they are relevant.
Why should students come to O’Neill Indianapolis?
“If students want to build their professional network and get exposure to the justice system, they should come to O’Neill Indianapolis. Our faculty focus areas are so varied and they work with different practitioners in the justice system and in nonprofits that work inside the justice system with residents who are affected by the justice system. We have a deep layer of connection that provides students with a blend of research and real-world application.”
“That’s what separates us from a lot of programs that either predominately focus on the academic study of the criminal justice system, as well as those programs that only provide technical or vocational training about the justice system. O’Neill Indianapolis is providing a blend of both the research and the practice with a focus on creating better policies that will make our systems better.”
