Rate My Professor Ray Nickson

Dr. Ray Nickson serves as Senior Lecturer in Criminology and Deputy Head of School for Research and Research Training in the School of Law and Justice at the University of Newcastle, Australia. He earned his Doctor of Philosophy from the Australian National University in 2014 and a Bachelor of Law and Legal Practice (Honours) from Flinders University. Nickson's professional journey began as a legal aid lawyer with the Legal Services Commission of South Australia Criminal Law division from 2007 to 2010. Subsequently, he worked as an Analyst at the Department of Defence from 2014 to 2015, Lecturer at the University of New England from 2015 to 2016, and Associate Professor and Director of Criminology at Fresno Pacific University from 2017 to 2022. He commenced university teaching in 2007 at Flinders University, delivering law pathways courses for non-traditional students including refugees, and later chaired a criminology department at a Hispanic-serving institution in the United States.

Nickson's research interests encompass restorative justice, the role of victims in the justice system, international criminal justice, post-conflict and transitional justice, prison education, sports governance and law, victimology, wrongful convictions, crime and social justice, state crime, and the intersection of disability and the criminal justice system. Notable publications include the co-authored book Managing Transitional Justice (2018, with Alice Neikirk), chapters such as Participation as Restoration: The Current Limits of Restorative Justice for Victim Participants in International Criminal Trials (2020), and journal articles like Legal first responders: duty lawyers as an essential service (2025, Current Issues in Criminal Justice), Restorative justice in healthcare settings: Better outcomes for patients and medical professionals (2024, Alternative Law Journal, with Alice Neikirk), and Getting slapped and kicked: the experience of judicial bullying for lawyers providing publicly funded criminal defence (2024, Psychiatry, Psychology and Law, with Alice Neikirk). He received the Australian Postgraduate Award from 2010 to 2013 valued at $78,750. Nickson directs the University of Newcastle Justice Clinic, collaborates with legal aid offices and community partners to enhance access to justice for marginalized groups, and is recognized as a leading expert on baseball's history in Australia, contributing to the Australian Society for Sports History and Society for American Baseball Research.