Mark Leymon, Portland State’s new assistant professor in the Criminology and Criminal Justice Division of the College of Urban and Public Affairs, jumped at an opportunity to get back to the Pacific Northwest after spending the last two years at Illinois State University.
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“Portland is really a dream location. And it’s pretty rare in the academic world to end up exactly where you want to end up,” Leymon said. “So I’m pretty excited about that.”
With a double major in sociology and psychology from Western Washington University, and master’s and doctoral degrees in sociology from the University of Oregon, Leymon is teaching the graduate-level statistics course in the department as well as undergraduate research methods.
“I really enjoy teaching. I try to get students to understand the importance and applicability of research methods and try to make it accessible, because it’s very often not,” he said.
Leymon said he knows his class is one of the least sought-after required courses. Students may not be excited about it, but he wants to ensure they at least understand and know why they are learning it.
He does this by looking at his classes from a social justice point of view. The criminal justice system is not perfect, he said, and he hopes to give students the ability to be critical and look for areas of improvement.
“Very much, our system is broken. We send way too many people to prison and we send way too many people of color to prison,” Leymon said.
Leymon said he and his family enjoy spending a lot of time outdoors—camping, hiking and playing with the family dog. He also enjoys brewing beer and checking out breweries in the area.