Dr. Hesse joined the Sociology & Criminal Justice Department at Winona State in August 2025 after 20 years of faculty service at St. Cloud State University, where he also served as department chair and graduate program director for several years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mario earned a PhD in Sociology with an emphasis in deviance and demography from South Dakota State University, an MS in Criminal Justice from St. Cloud State University, and a BA in Criminology and Sociology from the University of Minnesota\u2013Duluth. He has practitioner-based correctional experience (adult and juvenile) at county and local levels within Minnesota (public and private) spanning numerous years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr. Hesse\u2019s research and teaching interests include juvenile justice, gangs, corrections (community-based and penology), crime mapping, and crime and media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He has been a review-editor for\u00a0“A Critical Journal of Crime, Law and Society,”\u00a0“American Institute for the Advancement of Forensic Studies,” and\u00a0“Journal of Gang Research.” He has been published in\u00a0“ACJS Today,”\u00a0“Corrections Today,”\u00a0“Criminal Justice Review,” “The Journal of Gang Research,” and he has co-authored 3 textbooks: “Juvenile Justice: The Essentials” (2010), “Gangs”\u00a0(2016), and\u00a0“Gangs”\u00a0(second edition, 2020).\u00a0 Mario has attended and presented at numerous criminal justice-related conferences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mario is generous with his time and known for giving several minutes to anyone interested in sharing their fantastical Bigfoot story with him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n