Rate My Professor Elizabeth Wiles

Elizabeth Wiles is an Associate Professor of Criminal Justice Studies at Truman State University, where she was recently promoted with tenure. She also serves as Director of Interdisciplinary Studies & Student Research, overseeing the Interdisciplinary Studies Major, interdisciplinary minors, Junior Interdisciplinary Seminar, First Year Seminar, and student research initiatives including Tru Scholars, Grants in Aid of Scholarship & Research, and the annual Student Research Conference. Additionally, as Chair of Legal Studies & Pre-Law Programming, she mentors students to improve access to legal education from all backgrounds. A Truman State University alumna, Wiles earned a B.A. in Philosophy & Religion magna cum laude in 2006. She received her J.D. magna cum laude from the University of Missouri School of Law, during which she served on the Editorial Board of the Missouri Law Review and interned for the Honorable Mary R. Russell of the Supreme Court of Missouri. Following law school, she clerked as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Patricia Breckenridge of the Supreme Court of Missouri.

Wiles' research interests include higher education and legal education policy, wrongful convictions and the innocence movement, and merit-based judicial selection methods. She teaches courses such as Introduction to Criminal Justice Studies, Wrongful Convictions, American Law & Society, Criminal Law, Constitutional Law & Due Process: Limits on Law Enforcement, First Amendment: Fight for Free Speech, and the Criminal Justice Studies Capstone. Her dedication to education has been honored with the William O'Donnell Lee Advising Award in 2020, Educator of the Year for 2023-2024, and the Governor's Award for Excellence in Education from Governor Mike Kehoe in 2025. Wiles has organized interdisciplinary events like Tru Crime Day, featuring student-led discussions and speakers on crime, law, and justice.