About our authors Charles F. Levinthal is a distinguished professor emeritus at Hofstra University. During his over 40-year tenure on the Hofstra faculty, he chaired the Department of Psychology for nine years as well as assuming other leadership roles in the department and university. While teaching dozens of courses in neuropsychology and cognitive psychology for both undergraduate and professional graduate students, he conducted research in the fields of cognitive neuropsychology and decision-making. His academic honors include the Hofstra University Distinguished Faculty Lecture Award in 1987 for his research on the history of opium and the Distinguished Teacher of the Year Award as voted by the graduating Hofstra Class of 2003. He was elected as a fellow of the American Psychological Association in 2010.Levinthal has authored 19 books: Messengers of Paradise: Opiates and the Brain (1988) with Spanish and Japanese translations in 1989 and 1991, respectively; three editions of Introduction to Physiological Psychology (1979, 1983, 1990); Point-Counterpoint: Opposing Perspectives on Issues of Drug Policy (2003); nine editions of Drugs, Behavior, and Modern Society (1996, 1999, 2002, 2005, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2019) with a Korean translation in 2008; and five editions of Drugs, Society, and Criminal Justice (2006, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2019). Levinthal served on the Core Curriculum Planning Committee during the formation of the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra University and lectures extensively on topics ranging from the history of drugs to message-framing factors in decision-making. His writing reflects the philosophy that a textbook is ultimately successful when it is both engaging and educational. One of the best compliments Levinthal received was a review by a student who remarked that his textbook was the first one he had actually enjoyed reading.Lori Brusman Lovins is an assistant professor at the University of Houston Downtown, Department of Criminal Justice and Social Work. She received her PhD in criminal justice in 2012 from the University of Cincinnati. Her research interests include evidence-based correctional programming, program implementation, and how the criminal justice system treats specialized populations, such as juveniles, females, sex offenders, substance abusing offenders, and offenders with mental illness. Prior to her current academic position, she was the director of clinical services for the Harris County Community Supervision and Corrections Department and a research associate for the University of Cincinnati, where she oversaw several state-wide research and program implementation projects. She is passionate about bridging the gap between research and practice by bringing academic knowledge to criminal justice professionals and teaching practical skills to students entering the field of criminal justice.
