• Skip to Content
  • Skip to Main Navigation
  • Skip to Search

Indiana University Kokomo Indiana University Kokomo IU Kokomo

Open Search
  • Niki Weller
  • Indiana University Kokomo
  • Admissions
    • Cost + Value
    • Scholarships
    • Plan a Visit
    • Apply Now
      • High School Student
      • Returning Student
      • Adult Student
      • Guest Student
      • Dual Credit
      • Transfer-credit
        • Advanced Placement Articulation
        • CLEP Scores
        • Cambridge Assessment International Education Credits
        • International Baccalaureate Articulation
      • Parents
        • Web Wednesday
      • You’re In; Now What?
      • Test optional FAQ
      • Contact Admissions
    • Academics
      • Majors and Programs
      • Schools
      • Schedule of Classes
      • Academic Bulletin
      • Academic Calendars
      • First Year Experiences
      • Honors Program
      • Kokomo Experience and You
      • Graduate Programs
      • Online Degrees
      • Library
    • Student Life
    • Athletics
    • About
      • Accreditation
      • Campus Map
      • Community
      • Connect with IU Kokomo
      • Federally Required Disclosures
      • Statement and Commitments
    • Offices & Services
    • Giving
      • Alumni
        • Board of Directors
        • Distinguished Service Award
        • Hall of Fame
        • Life After IU Kokomo
        • IUAAK Scholarships
        • Legacy Magazine
        • Angle Podcasts
        • Cooking Classes
        • Contact us
      • Development
        • IU Foundation
        • Give Now Options
        • Ways to Give
        • Women of the Well House
      • Advancement Staff
    • Alumni
      • Board of Directors
      • Distinguished Service Award
      • Hall of Fame
      • Life After IU Kokomo
      • IUAAK Scholarships
      • Legacy Magazine
      • Angle Podcasts
      • Cooking Classes
      • Contact us
    • Leadership
      • Chancellor
      • Advisory Board
      • Administrative Council
      • Faculty Senate
      • Staff Council
      • Student Government
      • Past Chancellors
    • Canvas
    • One.IU
    • A - Z List
    • Home
    • Admissions
      • Cost + Value
      • Scholarships
      • Plan a Visit
      • Apply Now
      • Transfer-credit
      • Parents
      • You’re In; Now What?
      • Test optional FAQ
      • Staff
    • Academics
      • Majors and Programs
      • Schools
      • Schedule of Classes
      • Academic Bulletin
      • Academic Calendars
      • First Year Experiences
      • Honors Program
      • Kokomo Experience and You
      • Graduate Programs
      • Online Degrees
      • Library
    • Student Life
    • Athletics
    • About
      • Accreditation
      • Campus Map
      • Community
      • Connect with IU Kokomo
      • Federally Required Disclosures
      • Statement and Commitments
    • Offices & Services
    • Giving
      • Alumni
      • Development
      • Advancement Staff
    • Alumni
      • Board of Directors
      • Distinguished Service Award
      • Hall of Fame
      • Life After IU Kokomo
      • IUAAK Scholarships
      • Legacy Magazine
      • Angle Podcasts
      • Cooking Classes
      • Contact us
    • Leadership
      • Chancellor
      • Advisory Board
      • Administrative Council
      • Faculty Senate
      • Staff Council
      • Student Government
      • Past Chancellors
    • Search
    • Canvas
    • One.IU
    • A - Z List

    Indiana University Kokomo

    • Home
    • Humanities and Social Sciences
    • Sociology
    • Faculty
    • Niki Weller

    Niki Weller, Ph.D.

    Professor of Sociology

    Niki Weller
    Phone:
    765-455-9428
    Email:
    wellern@iu.edu
    Campus:
    IU Kokomo
    East Building (KE), Room 350

    Research

    Niki Weller is an Associate Professor for the Department of Sociology. At the foundation of her research is a desire to better understand how sociodemographics influence an adolescent’s exposure to, or protection from, deviant behaviors, with a particular emphasis on risky behaviors such as drug use/abuse and sexual health behaviors. In addition to developing a broader theoretical understanding of these relationships, her research has a strong applied component to it, due in part to her work with numerous community partners and agencies. Since 2017 she has been working with a local non-profit to develop and implement multi-level approaches to reducing the rates of adolescent drug use and abuse among high-risk populations across Indiana.

    Since 2016, Dr. Weller has been working with HOPE Mentoring which pairs undergraduate students with incarcerated youth at one of three juvenile correctional facilities in Indiana. Recent publications stemming from the HOPE Mentoring project have focused on disseminating information about HOPE mentoring, examining the impact of mentoring on the incarcerated youth/mentees, analyzing how undergraduate students serve a critical role as a mentor, and the sociodemographic obstacles facing incarcerated youth. Her co-authored work has been featured in Intervention in School and Clinic, the Journal of Prison Education, and Corrections Today.  

    Dr. Weller is the co-director for the Global Institute on Juvenile Delinquency and Prevention which launched in 2019. The Institute developed from the research branch of HOPE Mentoring, and includes a diverse community of investigators and practitioners from the United States, Costa Rica, Brazil, and Mexico working collectively to offer a critical interdisciplinary and international framework for understanding juvenile delinquency and prevention. Through the exchange of knowledge and dissemination of scholarship, our goal is to improve the existing practices related to juvenile delinquency and prevention, and to effect long term change through local and international policies.

    Teaching

    At the core of Dr. Weller’s teaching pedagogy is Kolb’s theory of experiential learning which proposes that learning is a process where knowledge is created through experience. Kolb theorizes that learning takes place when the student engages in a novel or concrete experience, reflects upon this experience, conceptualizes it, and tests its authenticity by applying it to future experiences. This theory informs many methodologies in which educators engage students in real-life situations with focused reflection, to increase their knowledge, and promote personal development and capacity for intellectual analysis. She believes that learning is a process that takes place when students engage in concrete experiences, and they are given opportunities to reflect, conceptualize, and test the authenticity of this experience by applying it to future experiences. To be sure, her teaching is a platform that turns experiences into insight, knowledge, and application.

    Courses Taught

    • Social Aspects of Health and Medicine (S 314)
    • Sexuality and Society (R 320)
    • Drug Abuse in Society (S 364)
    • Health over the Lifecourse (S 372)
    • Sociology of Mental Illness (S 374)
    • Statistics for Social and Health Professionals (S 355)
    • Methods of Sociological Research (S 252)
    • Introduction to Sociology (S 100)

    Awards/Honors

    • 2020 Trustees Teaching Award
    • 2020 Claude Rich Excellence in Teaching Award
    • 2020 Chancellor’s Excellence in Diversity Award
    • 2017 Trustees Teaching Award

    Indiana University Kokomo resources and social media channels

    • Apply Now
    • Visit Us
    • Give Now
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
    • LinkedIn
    • Flickr
    • Snapchat

    Contact, Address, and Additional Links

    Email

    • Outlook Web Access

    Resources

    • Library
    • Federally Required Disclosures

    Info

    • IU COVID-19 updates
    • Non-Discrimination Notice
    • Jobs at IU

    Find

    • Majors and Degrees
    • Directory
    • IT Knowledge Base
    • Campus Map

    Tools

    • Academic Calendars
    • IT Services (UITS)
    • IUware

    Indiana University Kokomo

    765-453-2000
    2300 S. Washington St.
    Kokomo, IN 46902

    Indiana University

    Accessibility | College Scorecard | Privacy Notice | Copyright © 2025 The Trustees of Indiana University