University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice Katelyn Hancock has been named the recipient of the Ken Peak Innovations in Teaching Award by the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS).
Hancock, who is in her third year as a UTC faculty member, will be honored at the ACJS Awards Luncheon on Friday, March 14, during the organization’s annual conference in Denver.
The Ken Peak Innovations in Teaching Award recognizes faculty members for innovative and effective teaching methods that enhance learning experiences and have the potential to be replicated by other educators.
Hancock said she was “shocked, excited and incredibly grateful” to be recognized with the award by ACJS—an association with more than 2,000 members representing institutions across the globe.
“When I got that email, I totally didn’t expect it,” she said. “It really means a lot to me that the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences believed in that project and its ability to replicate it for other topics—and make something doable and fun for students.”
The project she cited, “Pouring for Purpose,” is an innovative classroom initiative introduced in her Ethics in Criminal Justice course that combines active learning, community engagement and creative expression.
Hancock explained that students collaborate to design and solve ethical dilemmas related to the criminal justice system, focusing on areas like police, courts or corrections. They develop solutions, apply ethical systems discussed in class and use color keys to represent their reasoning—and these colors are then poured onto canvases, creating artwork that visually captures their decision-making process.
The finished pieces, she said, are showcased in a gallery event where donations collected for the paintings support local victim service organizations.
“Pouring for Purpose” beneficiaries have included Partnership for Families, Children and Adults, the Chattanooga Hamilton County Family Justice Center, and the Children’s Advocacy Center.
“That project was really born out of my students’ ideas,” Hancock said. “My first time teaching Ethics in Criminal Justice, I told my students about my interest in painting, and they asked if we could paint in class. Initially, I told them no, but the wheels started turning and they came up with ideas. They really inspired the ‘Pouring for Purpose’ project.”
Thanks to a High Impact Practices Grant from UTC’s Walker Center for Teaching and Learning and a Professional Development Grant from the Division of Access and Engagement, “Pouring for Purpose” was launched during the 2022-2023 academic year.
The initiative has had a different iteration each year, but the idea behind it remains the same: students create artwork that reflects their reasoning.
“The part I really love is that my students get to have a gallery where their paintings are displayed,” she said. “That has been really fun.”
Dr. Rick Dierenfeldt, UC Foundation associate professor and head of the Department of Criminal Justice, praised Hancock’s achievements.
“I don’t think it would come as a surprise to anyone at UTC that Dr. Hancock is the recipient of a major teaching award,” Dierenfeldt said. “Her students, peers and administrators are all very much aware that she is a truly remarkable educator who invests an incredible amount of energy and care into her classes and the learning experiences of her students. Still, to see her recognized for her efforts at this level and at this stage of her career is really special.
“The Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences is a flagship international organization within our discipline and the decision to name Dr. Hancock as the recipient of the Ken Peak Innovation in Teaching Award isn’t one that the ACJS awards committee made lightly. They clearly recognized not only the value of what she is doing in the classroom but also the potential to influence the teaching practices and learning experiences for other criminal justice educators and students across the U.S. and beyond.”
A native of Cookeville, Tennessee, Hancock holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Tennessee Tech University (2017), a master’s degree in criminal justice from UTC (2019), and a Ph.D. in criminal justice and criminology from Georgia State University (2022).
Since joining the UTC faculty in fall 2022, Hancock has devoted her teaching and research to victimization, intimate partner violence and polyvictimization among diverse populations.
She credited several of her UTC criminal justice colleagues for their guidance and support, including Dr. Tammy Garland, who encouraged her to pursue a Ph.D.; Dr. Christina Policastro, who introduced her to research on victimization; and Dr. Gale Iles, who suggested she submit her “Pouring for Purpose” project for the Ken Peak Innovations in Teaching Award.
During her master’s program at UTC, “I saw that you could study victimization and work with victim service organizations in the same vein that you do your research and make recommendations and study populations,” Hancock said.
“You could help people who are having probably the worst time of their life—someone who has experienced victimization—and give recommendations or work with service organizations or raise funds to give to them as a donation. That was just something that I really enjoyed and wanted to keep doing. That’s what kind of drives me … a need to help.”
Hancock said she values projects that help students develop career skills while supporting community organizations.
In her Victimology class, students audited the Family Justice Center’s website, offering suggestions to improve functionality and content. Her Ethics in Criminal Justice courses created domestic and sexual violence workplace toolkits, including training modules, infographics and social media campaigns. During the summer, her Sexual Victimization class brainstorms event ideas for Sexual Assault Awareness Month and provides affirmations for the Center for Women and Gender Equity’s Survivor Advocacy Services.
“I really enjoy having students create projects that give them an opportunity to build potential career skills while also helping community organizations,” she said.
The Innovations in Teaching Award is named for Dr. Ken Peak, an emeritus professor and former chair of the Department of Criminal Justice at the University of Nevada, Reno. Following service as a municipal police officer in Kansas, Peak held positions as a nine-county criminal justice planner for southeast Kansas; director of a four-state Technical Assistance Institute for the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration (based at Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas); director of university police at Pittsburg State University (Kansas); acting director of public safety, University of Nevada, Reno; and assistant professor of criminal justice at Wichita State University.