Lucien X . Lombardo | Old Dominion University (original) (raw)

Dr. Lucien X. Lombardo is professor Emeritus of Sociology and Criminal Justice, at Old Dominion University where he taught for 40 years. He has degrees from the University of Rochester (BA Spanish Linguistics 1967), University of Wisconsin Madison (MA Latin American Studies 1969) and an MA and PhD in Criminal Justice from School of Criminal Justice, SUNY Albany.

Dr. Lombardo started his teaching career at the Osborne School Auburn Correctional Facility in Auburn, NY where from 1969-1977 he taught English and Spanish to prisoners. In addition he developed a course called “Creative Reading” where prisoner / students would being their life experiences to bear in analyzing various forms of literature from R.D. Laing’s poetry in Knots to Eugene O’Neil drama “The Ice Man Cometh”. The goal of this course was to help people excluded from society build connections to humanity.

His time in Madison, Wisconsin (1967-69) corresponded to the peak of anti-Viet Nam war protests and police repression on the campus. During his time teaching at Auburn Prison the institution saw a major riot in 1970. One year later the Attica Riot occurred. These events sparked his interest in violence, collective violence and institutional violence.

For over 40 years at Old Dominion University he taught courses on Correctional Institutions, Perspectives on Organizations, Introduction to Interdisciplinary Studies, Criminal Justice Administration among others. He still teaches courses such as Violence in the World of Children and Understanding Violence.

Dr. Lombardo served as Chair of his department, Coordinator of Interdisciplinary Studies and the Work and Professional Studies Program. He was also instrumental in major general education curriculum development efforts at Old Dominion University. .

Through teaching content and pedagogical processes one goal of these courses is to help bring awareness to dehumanizing cultural forces that produce violence and student ability to undermine these forces. Developing a 'child-centered' understanding aims to help adults students connect with their childhoods and to provide awareness of need to connect with children in their lives as 'enlightened witnesses'

Together with Dr. Karen Polonko the group’s founding faculty member who passed in 2016, he helped advise and support In Support of Children student organization (ISOC). The ISOC’s motto developed and based on research over 30 years ago is “It’s NEVER ok to HIT A CHILD”. Dr. Lombardo is known for wearing the group’s t-shirt Real Men Don't Hit Kids.

Working with ISOC students and Dr. Polonko, Dr. Lombardo was instrumental in bringing leading researchers and advocates from around the world to discuss the impacts of violence in children’s lives and in the lives of the adults children become. The simple message for the ODU and Hampton Roads that flowed throughout these efforts was “Childhood Matters!!”

Together with Dr. Polonko, Dr. Lombardo presented their research on child maltreatment and children’s rights to national and international audiences. Internationally their work was they presented their research on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in Sicily, Florence, Italy, Lisbon, York, England, Berlin and Istanbul. Most recently Dr. Lombardo had the honor of presenting to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in Geneva, Switzerland where he discussed lessons from he and Dr. Polonko’s research for the work of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.

Dr. Lombardo is a researcher, writer, and relentless advocate on the topic of furthering the rights of children to live in a world free from violence and, in particular, corporal punishment. Advocate for changing the norms regarding physical punishment of children, helping organizations such as the American Professional Society on Abuse of Children (APSAC) and Institute on Violence Abuse and Trauma (IVAT) develop organizational policy statements against physical punishment of children and supporting positive parenting. He has worked to support efforts to establish “No Hit Zones” in public spaces and elsewhere.
Phone: 315-406-7785
Address: 61 Perrine Street
Auburn, NY 13021
USA

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