Dr. Nayan G. Ramirez (he/him/él) is an Associate Professor of Criminology and Justice Studies at California State University, Northridge, where he also serves as Faculty Director of Faculty Development. His research focuses on adolescent and young adult social relationships, with particular attention to peer networks, gender and sexuality, and the ways inequality shapes experiences across the transition to adulthood. Drawing on longitudinal and social network approaches, his work examines friendship dynamics, belonging, institutional exclusion, and substance use to understand how early social environments shape later educational and justice-related experiences.
Dr. Ramirez teaches courses in statistics, peer mentoring, race, ethnicity, and justice, research methods, juvenile justice, and criminological theory. His teaching and mentoring emphasize equity, belonging, and practical support for first-generation and working-class students. He serves as a Faculty Senator-at-Large and recently chaired the Faculty Senate’s Educational Equity Committee for two years. He also serves as Vice President for Faculty of the Chicanx/Latinx Faculty and Staff Association and as Treasurer of CSUN’s CFA chapter.
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Ph.D. Sociology 2018, The Pennsylvania State University
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M.A. Criminology 2015, The Pennsylvania State University
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B.A. Health and Societies 2010, University of Pennsylvania
