Dr. Melissa L. Jarrell is a Professor of Criminal Justice and Chair of the Department of Undergraduate Studies (DUGS) at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (TAMUCC).

As Chair, Dr. Jarrell oversees the First-Year Learning Community Program, the Honors Program, the Applied Science degree programs, University Studies and the University Preparatory High School program as well as academic advising and new student orientation. Dr. Jarrell works closely with her DUGS colleagues and various academic units to help improve retention rates at TAMUCC and is currently leading the Destination Graduation pilot program, which provides advising and mentoring support for first-year students in seminar courses.

Dr. Jarrell earned a B.A. in Anthropology from Eckerd College (1998) and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Criminology from USF (2005). Her research interests include green criminology, environmental justice, and environmental victimization. Dr. Jarrell has published articles in journals such as Crime, Law and Social Change, Environmental Justice, Environmental Politics, and Review of Policy Research. In 2017, she received the Praxis Award from the American Society of Criminology Division on Critical Criminology and Social Justice for her work to reduce social and environmental injustice in Corpus Christi.