Presented by Director of IUP Administration and Leadership Studies Research and Training Center
Robert Orth
The managing director of Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s Administration and Leadership Studies Research and Training Center is the 2025 Social Sciences Career Pathways Speaker.
Robert Orth, who has more than a decade of experience researching and analyzing statewide crime statistics in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, will present “Tracking Crime in Pennsylvania: 2014–23 Social Science Research in State Government” on April 8 at 4:00 p.m. in room 126 of IUP’s Jane Leonard Hall.
The program is free and open to all. The Social Sciences Career Pathways Speaker Series event is cosponsored by the Sociology Club, Alpha Kappa Delta, the Political Leadership Society, the Anthropology Club, Alpha Phi Sigma, the Criminology Association, and the Economics Club.
In his presentation, Orth will share his analysis of 10 years of statewide crime statistics and how showcasing them in a visually stylized display to discern trending patterns assists state government decision-making.
He also will discuss how a background in the social sciences prepared him to manage a large portfolio of research and evaluation projects for state government and how social science majors can lead to fulfilling careers in public service.
“My career using data and research to support the state’s criminal justice system has been extremely rewarding,” Orth said.
“Over this time, my team and I have passionately worked to bring data to the forefront of the policy and programming conversations among key decision makers to improve the delivery of victim services, the diversion of nonviolent, substance-dependent individuals from jail (and into supervision and substance abuse treatment), the reduction of recidivism among justice-involved populations, the targeting of grant funding to reduce community violence, etc.
“Despite having no formal education in criminal justice, I found myself accidentally working in the field, but I realized I loved it and that I was easily able to leverage my social science skills in policy analysis and research to drive reform and change efforts. That is a testament to not only how important social science skills are broadly, but also how they are easily transferable and applied to other fields and industries,” he said.
“The next phase of my career, in which I have been focused on bringing meaningful practical opportunities to IUP students, has become increasingly rewarding. This has included assisting research-oriented students to realize, sharpen, and harness their social science skills through analyzing justice-related research projects, then learning how to communicate their written and oral findings to support and inform the decision making of justice practitioners.”
Orth is an associate professor of sociology in addition to his work as the managing director of the Administration and Leadership Studies Research and Training Center (ALS-RTC), which is an applied, interdisciplinary center at IUP that supports sponsored research, program evaluation, policy analysis, technology transfer, and training for nonprofit and state agencies that serve Pennsylvania. He was named to the managing director position in 2023.
He started his career in 2012 in the Research Offices of the Pennsylvania Department of Correction and the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency. Since 2015, he has been employed by IUP and currently operates under the Department of School Psychology, Special Education, and Sociology. His primary responsibility is to provide in-house research, data analysis, and data visualization services to the PCCD as part of a cooperative agreement between IUP and PCCD.
Orth earned his doctoral degree in administration and leadership studies IUP in 2020, building a strong foundation in sociological research and applied policy analysis during his studies.
His career has been defined by his commitment to leveraging research to inform public policy and improve the effectiveness of justice-related programs. His work at PCCD involves spearheading major research and evaluation projects in collaboration with executive leadership to support key initiatives. This includes providing direct support to the PCCD executive director and senior agency managers in producing research reports and presentations on pertinent criminal justice issues central to the policy objectives of the Governor’s Administration and the Pennsylvania General Assembly.
As the managing director of ALS-RTC, Orth ensures that a consistently high quality of research, training, and program activities is maintained across researchers, graduate students, and collaborating agency personnel. His leadership enhances the center’s collaborations with state agencies, drives award growth, and produces high-quality deliverables that contribute to public policy discussions.
Orth serves as the principal advisor to the executive director, senior Commission managers, and Commission members at PCCD on all advanced research, analysis, and evaluation of program policy matters. His role involves providing planning and guidance to the Commission, Advisory Committee members, program offices, and state and local justice agencies on the development of new programs, policies, and strategic plans. He plays a key role in determining and recommending goals, objectives, and priorities for PCCD’s research, evaluation, and analysis efforts.
Additionally, he develops policy recommendations, conducts and manages special studies or projects, and provides critical policy and technical advice regarding the impact of existing and proposed justice policy-related legislation.
Orth’s accomplishments include performing key recidivism outcomes research, which generated positive benefits to Pennsylvania’s state and local justice systems, authoring and securing millions of dollars in federal grant applications for various research projects, and working with his team to develop novel research tools such as an automated recidivism calculator and a crime trends dashboard.
He has authored a variety of notable reports across a variety of topics, including criminal justice population projections, caseload statistics in county adult probation and parole, and crime trends in Pennsylvania, while also reforming the Commonwealth’s more than 50-year-old Grant-in-Aid funding formula for state awards to support county supervision operations.
Orth is also notably spearheading ways to incorporate IUP students into the ALS-RTC research and evaluation projects and drive an interest in public service. In 2022, he and ALS-RTC faculty member Lindsay Vaughan developed the Justice Research Fellowship, now in its third year. This program recruits exemplary students majoring in the social sciences to participate in “real life,” practical mini-research projects with IUP faculty during the winter and spring semesters.