Justine DeCamillis

Justine DeCamillis is an award-winning faculty member in the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences and the Director of Justice and Legal Thought. She is responsible for teaching colloquium and capstone courses as well as designing programming that supports students’ academic, personal, and professional development. An interdisciplinary scholar who has taught many courses at the University across multiple departments, she believes in hands-on learning that places an emphasis on collaboration and civic engagement.

Dr. DeCamillis is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts Amherst with a Bachelor's and Masters of Arts in English and a license in secondary education. In 2021, she received her Ph.D. in English from UMD along with an international fellowship and several awards for her contribution to the campus community. Her research interests include the history of attention and personhood in the public imagination, particularly how legal systems across history defined personhood. While at UMD, she worked as an undergraduate advisor, organized multiple interdisciplinary conferences, co-edited a variety of digital humanities projects, and served as the coordinator of the campus-wide Democracy Then and Now initiative.

Prior to joining College Park Scholars, Dr. DeCamillis worked for a number of private and public institutions. She was the project coordinator for “Before 'Farm to Table': Early Modern Foodways and Cultures,” the inaugural project of the Mellon Initiative in Collaborative Research at the Folger Shakespeare Library in DC. There, she organized academic events, international collaborations, and interactive exhibits. In her previous role at UMass Amherst’s Office of New Student Orientation and Parent Services, she assisted in welcoming new undergraduates and their families to campus by creating robust community-building programming.

During her time with JLT, Dr. DeCamillis has strengthened JLT’s ties to the local and international community. By creating a number of new internships for JLT sophomores with on and off campus partners, students can complete their capstone internships in a way that directly contributes to our local communities. Some of her recent notable accolades include the Provost’s Do Good Innovator Award as well as the inaugural Do Good Campus Fund Grant for her work connecting students with service-learning and restorative justice opportunities. Dr. DeCamillis has presented her work at a number of international conferences, sharing the exceptional achievements of JLT with the global community.