Laurie Woods

Senior Lecturer in Sociology
Faculty VUcepter, Vanderbilt Visions; Faculty Member in Residence, McGill Hall

Laurie Woods is a Senior Lecturer in Sociology. Her PhD in Sociology with an emphasis on criminology is from Vanderbilt University.  Her areas of interest include American gun culture and policing in the U.S. and abroad. Professor Woods has been featured in numerous publications, as well as telephone and radio broadcasts on the topic of both guns and policing.  She teaches a variety of criminology courses and for the Osher Lifelong Learning program at Vanderbilt.

Professor Woods is the Faculty Member in Resident of the McGill Project, a campus living/learning community that endeavors to foster “free thought, creative expression, and inclusive community.”  She is the faculty advisor for a variety of student clubs and member of the Vanderbilt Women’s Basketball Leadership Circle.

Prior to coming to Vanderbilt, Professor Woods was a special agent with the California Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement for 21 years.