Dr. Lesley Williams Reid
Provost
A criminologist by training, Dr. Lesley Williams Reid earned her Ph.D. in Sociology from Tulane University and joined The University of Alabama in 2014 as professor and chair of the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice. She has since held several key leadership roles, including senior associate provost for academic and administrative affairs, associate provost for faculty affairs, and interim dean of the School of Social Work (2019–2021).
Dr. Reid’s research focuses on how the characteristics of places, from neighborhoods to correctional institutions, shape public safety and the risk of criminal victimization. Her work has been supported by multiple grants from the National Science Foundation, and she led a nearly $2 million study for the Alabama Department of Corrections. Her analysis of long-term crime trends across U.S. communities has been widely cited and featured in prominent media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and Scientific American.
