O’Neill student internships deliver real-world experience—and real impact—for Indiana

Posted on July 31, 2025 by Leslie Wells

Photos shows the IU trident tower at IU Indianapolis' Campus Center. Text on the side reads O'Neill Internship Impact.

From keeping visitors safe at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis to assisting lawmakers at the Indiana Statehouse and helping to protect lakes and watershed areas across rural Hoosier counties, O’Neill School students are stepping into meaningful internships across the state—connecting classroom knowledge with hands-on public service that leaves a lasting impact.

A red graphic with the O'Neill School building in the background. It shows a map of Indiana with the counties where IU Indianapolis students served as highlighted. The text information reads: 60 internships in Indiana. 7 Counties served. 11,840 hours worked.

In the 2024–25 academic year alone, O’Neill students from both IU Bloomington and IU Indianapolis completed 546 internships in 43 Indiana counties, contributing nearly 99,000 hours of public service to communities throughout the state. Of those, O‘Neill Indianapolis students filled 60 internships across seven counties, serving 13,520 hours during the 2024–25 academic year.

Whether advancing sustainability, supporting healthcare operations, contributing to public safety, or strengthening civic engagement, O’Neill students are playing an active role in addressing Indiana’s most pressing challenges.

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Noah Turner: Addressing extremism through research

Posted on July 21, 2025 by Leslie Wells

A man in a navy blue jacket and button-up shirt stands on a bridge, smiling. — O’Neill Assistant Professor Noah Turner focuses his research on extremist crime and violence.

Noah Turner, like many people, grew up during a news cycle that featured what seemed like daily reports on terrorism and violent extremism around the world. The more he heard and saw, the more he wanted to better understand the attacks and to help leaders learn how to stop them from happening.

“The consequences of extremist crime and violence—as well as the governmental responses to these attacks—have a lasting impact on the public,” he explains. “I believe it is important to understand why some people choose to engage in extremist crime and violence so we can be better informed on how to effectively prevent these acts.”

As a researcher, Turner uses criminological theory to explain and understand violent acts of extremism as well as nonviolent extremist crime including cyberterrorism, financial crime, and property crime.

“The ultimate purpose of my research is to help policymakers and practitioners safeguard the public,” he says. “I hope my research can inform effective policy that prevents acts of extremist crime and violence nationwide, while also ensuring the civil rights and liberties of the general public are upheld.”

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Tom Stucky: Connecting systems to improve criminal justice

Posted on July 7, 2025 by Leslie Wells

A man stands in a window-lined hallway wearing a blue blazer, blue shirt, and yellow tie. — O’Neill Professor Tom Stucky

O’Neill Professor Tom Stucky didn’t intend to work in academia. After earning his bachelor’s degree, he was focused on policing.

“I was like many people who were interested in law enforcement in the early 90s,” he chuckles.

While he says he originally wanted to pursue a career in the FBI, he shifted gears toward state and local policing, eventually working as an officer with the Ohio Department of Liquor Control. But the schedule and lifestyle didn’t align with what he wanted for his family. So, he went back to school to earn his master’s degree and then his Ph.D. in criminology.

“Several of my family members are in law enforcement and my parents were both teachers, so teaching with a criminal justice focus was a natural fit for me,” he explains. “It also was an opportunity for me to continue to be involved in helping to shape good public policy around criminal justice through research.”

Since arriving at O’Neill Indianapolis more than two decades ago, Stucky has taught hundreds of courses, mentored students, served as the school’s executive associate dean in Indianapolis, helped launch its new digital forensics internship, and now serves as faculty fellow to IU Indianapolis’ Office of the Chancellor.

In that time, he’s also studied everything from anti-gang and violent crime initiatives to the impact urban politics and income inequality have on crime. And he’s found a multitude of factors that all impact each other and contribute to what makes a community livable.

“Everyone wants to feel safe as they’re going about their daily life,” he explains. “So, while the criminal justice system is partly about holding individuals who have committed a crime accountable, it’s also about preventing criminal behavior in the first place.”

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O’Neill faculty head to South Korea for Public Management Research Conference

Posted on June 23, 2025 by Leslie Wells

Three-grid photo image with a man and two women, all wearing suit jackets. Text reads Public Management Research Conference.

Three O’Neill Indianapolis faculty members are participating in this year’s Public Management Research Conference from the Public Management Research Association. The event takes place June 25–28 at Seoul National University in Seoul, South Korea.

During the conference, 17 papers from O’Neill faculty and Ph.D. students from both the Indianapolis and Bloomington campuses will be presented and discussed during the conference,.

“We are thrilled to have such a strong presence at this year’s Public Management Research Conference,” said Siân Mooney, dean of the O’Neill School. “Our faculty and students have worked tirelessly and are excited to share their findings with the global academic community. The conference provides an excellent platform for exchanging ideas and fostering collaboration.”

Among the O’Neill Indianapolis representatives with papers being presented at the event are Assistant Professor Christian Buerger, Associate Professor Sanghee Park, and Assistant Professor Vernise Estorcien. Estorcien is chairing a session on police administration during the conference. She also will present her paper Bridging the Gap: How Youth Behaviors Influence the Density of Youth Nonprofits in U.S. Counties. The study explores whether indicators of youth risk–such as juvenile arrest and dropout rates–affect the presence of youth-focused nonprofits at the county level.

Park will discuss the work she and Buerger have done on property forfeitures by law enforcement. Their study examined whether electoral cycles influence forfeiture patterns in city police departments and sheriff’s offices in communities with different socioeconomic and demographic profiles. Park also will review her study Balancing Control and Autonomy: How Organizational Hierarchy and External Shock Shape Human Preferences Across Sectors, which looks at how human inclinations toward control and autonomy are shaped by organizational hierarchy and forms.

For more information about PMRC and the full schedule of presentations, please visit the conference website.

Portraits of Resilience: Research project showcases risk and resiliency through art

Posted on June 16, 2025 by Leslie Wells

An art exhibit with four veils of sheer fabric in the foreground, and a display of photos on plywood in the background. — The Portraits of Resilience exhibit was part of a research and art collaboration, led by O’Neill Assistant Professor Courtney Page-Tan. *Photo credit: Cierra Johnson*

As Andre Parnell strolled the streets of Indianapolis’ east side, camera in hand. He was searching for a moment—one that would capture the realities, risks, and resilience within his community.

“The Far Eastside is more than where we’re from—it’s where we shape who we are,” Parnell explains. “Every street tells a story; every neighbor holds a legacy. It’s on us to carry that forward.”

Parnell is doing that through art. He was one of four artists selected to be part of a unique research project, led by O’Neill Assistant Professor Courtney Page-Tan. She worked with the Indy Arts Council to select Parnell, along with Corey Ewing, Cierra Johnson, and LaNiah Ray as the artists.

Four people stand around an an art installation on plywood. — Andre Parnell, LaNiah Ray-Reed, Cierra Johnson, and Corey Ewing (L-R) were the four local artists helped capture images for the research project.
Photo credit: Cierra Johnson

“The artists’ stories are so incredibly powerful,” Page-Tan explains. “It’s one thing to hear about problems, but to see them through a collection of photographs really creates a powerful visual.”

Their goal was to identify sources of both pain and progress in four Indianapolis communities: the Far Eastside, Martindale-Brightwood, Arlington Woods, and the Near Eastside.

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