ACJS Section Awards
COMMUNITY COLLEGE SECTION AWARD
The Jack Gasper Outstanding Achievement Award is awarded to individuals who are deemed deserving of special recognition for their outstanding contributions to the Community College Section.
To be considered for the award, the following criteria must be met:
1. Be an active member in good standing of the Community College Section.
2. Provide significant and dedicated service to the Community College Section.
Award Procedures:
1. Nomination letters for the award must be submitted to the Chair of the Community College Section by October 16.
2. The nominator must be a current member of the Community College Section.
3. The submission of supporting materials with a nomination is encouraged but not required. The nomination must include a brief summary of the nominee’s contributions in accordance with the award criteria and an explanation of the significance of these contributions to the Section.
4. The Section board will consider nominations and select the awardee(s).
Award:
1. Recipients would be recognized at the annual Section meeting and will receive an engraved plaque acknowledging their service to the Community College Section.
Please send all nominations by October 16 to the Community College Section Chair Christopher Utecht, CUtecht@CLCILLINOIS.EDU.
CRITICAL CRIMINAL JUSTICE SECTION AWARDS
The Critical Criminal Justice Scholar Award honors a person for distinguished accomplishments that represent issues related to critical criminal justice through scholarship, teaching, or service across the most recent two-year period. Nominees for this award need not be a member of ACJS or the Critical Criminal Justice Section at the time of the nomination. It is expected, however, that award winners will, upon notification of having been selected for the award, become a member of ACJS and a member of the Critical Criminal Justice Section He or she should provide evidence of quality scholarship (primarily through publications in quality outlets), excellence teaching on matters that symbolize critical criminal justice, or service/outreach to the community or academy that has had a direct impact on local citizens, criminal justice agencies, etc. Thus, this award is broad in scope such that nominees can have engaged in critical criminal justice scholarship, teaching, or service. Winners of this award will be recognized at the Section meeting each year (attached to the ACJS annual meeting), will receive a plaque and all efforts will be made to sufficiently showcase the work of winners (e.g. in the Section newsletter, posted on its website, etc.). Please submit a letter of nomination and the candidate’s CV.
The Critical Criminal Justice Section’s Outstanding Student Paper Award provides recognition of a student (either undergraduate or graduate) who produces an outstanding paper on an issue associated with critical criminal justice and to provide the award winner with a travel stipend intended to be used for attending and presenting at the annual meeting of ACJS. A student who is nominated for the paper competition need not be an ACJS member at the time of the nomination. It is expected, however, that award winners will, upon notification of having been selected for the award, become a member of ACJS and a member of the Critical Criminal Justice Section. The student must also be enrolled in an institution of higher learning at the time he or she submits a paper for consideration. It is recognized that a student could graduate prior to the time of the award or the next annual meeting where the paper will be presented. In order to receive the award and the travel stipend (see below), the student must be present at the annual meeting and actually present the winning paper. The paper can be co-authored with other students, but cannot be co-authored with a faculty member. If the paper has multiple authors, the winners will share the established travel stipend.
Please send all nominations by January 15, 2025 to the Chair Deena Isom, ISOM@mailbox.sc.edu.
INTERNATIONAL SECTION AWARDS
The ACJS International Section is seeking nominations for the 2025 Outstanding Book Award. The award is given to the author of a book published on any topic relating to the broad areas of international or comparative crime or justice with a formal publishing date in calendar years 2023 or 2024. All nominees must be current International Section members at the time of nomination.
Nominations are reviewed by a committee of the ACJS International Section. We encourage nominations from publishers, colleagues, and authors. Nominations from any country are welcome, but the book must also be published in English. Multiple-authored books are also eligible, but edited books are not. Nominations must be received by the committee chair, Stefan Schumann, at stefan.schumann@jku.at no later than October 1, 2024. Copies of nominated books must be made available to the members of the Book Award committee by the deadline. The winner will receive $500 and will be acknowledged at the International Section’s Annual Awards Luncheon during the 2025 ACJS Annual Meeting in Denver, CO.
The Gerhard O.W. Mueller Award is conferred annually on an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the field of comparative/international criminal justice spanning the areas of scholarship, leadership, and service. To be considered for the award, one needs a letter of nomination and detailed CV to be sent electronically to the Mueller Award Committee chair, Popy Begum, at popy.begum@slu.edu no later than October 1, 2024. The letter must explain why the candidate is qualified to be considered for the award. Self-nominations are discouraged. The deadline for nominations is October 1, 2024. All nominees must be current International Section members at the time of nomination. The winner will receive $300 and will be acknowledged at the International Section’s Annual Awards Luncheon during the 2025 ACJS Annual Meeting in Denver, CO.
For the ACJS International Section Graduate Student Paper Award, nominated papers need to be authored by a graduate student. Submissions must be accompanied by a cover sheet which includes the author’s name, department, university, and location, contact information (including email address), whether the author is a master- or doctoral-level student, and the name and email of a faculty advisor who can be contacted to verify graduate student status. Paper topics must deal with a comparative or international criminal justice issue. Submissions must be authored by the nominated student (only). Papers co-authored with faculty will not be accepted. All nominees must be current International Section members at the time of nomination. Manuscripts must be submitted as an email attachment in a .doc format to the award committee chair, Meghna Bhat, at outreach@meghnabhat.com by October 1, 2024. The winning paper will receive a monetary award of $200 and be recognized at the meeting of the 2025 Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences in Denver, CO.
JUVENILE JUSTICE AND DELINQUENCY SECTION AWARDS
JUVENILE JUSTICE AND DELINQUENCY SECTION TORY J. CAETI MEMORIAL AWARD
The ACJS Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Section is seeking nominations for the Tory J. Caeti Memorial Award. This $1,000 award, sponsored by the faculty in the Department of Criminal Justice at University of North Texas, recognizes the contributions of young scholars to the field of juvenile justice.
Eligible candidates are young academics, who have been out of school for no more than seven years from the date of the nomination, and who have made significant contributions to the field of juvenile justice. A letter of nomination and the candidate’s resume should be emailed by November 15, 2024 to:
Robin D. Jackson, PhD
Prairie View A&M University
rdjackson@pvamu.edu
Questions related to the award should also be directed to Dr. Jackson at the email above.
JUVENILE JUSTICE AND DELINQUENCY SECTION - STUDENT PAPER COMPETITION
The ACJS Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Section is seeking entries for the annual student paper competition.
Eligibility:
All students currently enrolled full- or part-time in an academic program at either the M.S./M.A. or Ph.D. level are invited to enter the competition.
Paper/Presentation Requirements:
All students entering the competition are required to present their paper at the Annual Meeting in March of 2025 or 2026.
Papers must be 15 to 20 pages, typewritten, double-spaced, using a standard format for the organization of papers and citations (e.g., APA style). Papers will be judged on the following criteria: content, style, quality of writing, and contribution to the field of juvenile justice.
Awards:
Papers in both the M.S./M.A. and Ph.D. divisions will receive monetary awards and plaques. Awards will be presented during the ACJS Juvenile Justice Section meeting, which we invite all students to attend.
To be considered for the competition, the paper must be emailed by November 15, 2024 to:
Robin D. Jackson, PhD
Prairie View A&M University
rdjackson@pvamu.edu
Questions related to the award should also be directed to Dr. Jackson at the email above.
MINORITIES AND WOMEN SECTION AWARDS
Coramae Richey Mann Leadership Award
To be considered for the highest honor of the Section, Coramae Richey Mann Leadership Award, a person must meet the following criteria: an active Member in good standing of the Section for at least 2 consecutive years prior to being recommended. Recipient must be a contributor to the ethnic and racial diversity in criminal justice education. The recipient must endeavor to advance critical thinking concerning women and must have made substantial contributions to the emerging body of knowledge about gender issues in criminology and criminal justice.
Evelyn Gilbert Unsung Hero Award
The recipient must be an active Member in good standing of the Section for at least 2 consecutive years prior to being recommended. Must be committed to ethnic and racial diversity in criminal justice education. The recipient must have made substantial contributions to the emerging body of knowledge about gender issues in criminology and criminal justice.
Becky Tatum Excellence Award
To be considered for the Becky Tatum Excellence Award, a person must be an active member in good standing of the Section. The recipient must be committed to conceptual or empirical contributions to the study of minorities as victims, professionals in criminal justice, or offenders.
Esther Madriz Student Travel Award
The Esther Madriz Student Travel Award is designed to encourage the participation of undergraduate and master’s level racial/ethnic minority and women students to attend and make presentations at the ACJS Annual Meeting.
Rosalyn Muraskin Student Travel Award
The Rosalyn Muraskin Student Travel Award is designed to encourage the participation of undergraduate and master’s level women students to attend and make presentations at the ACJS annual meeting.
Please send nominations and accompanying CV to Dr. Rochelle McGee-Cobbs at recobbs@mvsu.edu as a PDF or Word attachment by October 16, 2024. For the student awards, please contact Dr. McGee-Cobbs for more information on the materials to be submitted.
POLICE SECTION AWARDS
The Police Section of the ACJS confers two awards annually at its general business meeting during the ACJS Annual Meeting. All Police Section members are encouraged to nominate individuals for the following awards. Nominations are due to Eric Dlugolenski, Police Section Chair, by the deadline October 16, 2024. Email nominations to edlugolenski@ccsu.edu. Any questions about the awards can be directed to Dr. Dlugolenski. Awardees are selected by a committee of at least three Police Section members.
Outstanding Service Award
Awarded to people who are deemed deserving of special recognition for their outstanding contribution to the Police Section. The Police Section Outstanding Service Award was established as an annual award to honor the person who has provided significant service to the Police Section.
O.W. Wilson Award
Given to recognize outstanding contributions to police education, research, and practice. The nominee should be a practitioner, policy maker, researcher, or educator who, over a number of years, has exemplified and supported the following ideals:
1. Quality higher education for the police field.
2. Careful and scientific police research.
3. Cooperation and collaboration among police educators, researchers, policy makers, and practitioners.
4. Effective, equitable, and accountable policing.
The nominee is not required to be a member of the Police Section.
Award Procedures
1. Nominations for each award must be submitted to the Chair of the Police Section by October 16, 2024.
2. Nominator must be a current Police Section member.
3. Submission of supporting materials with nominations is encouraged but not required.
4. The nomination is to include a brief summary of the nominee’s contributions in accordance with the award criteria; an explanation of the significance of these contributions; and a current vitae or resume of the nominee.
RESTORATIVE AND COMMUNITY JUSTICE SECTION AWARDS
Student Scholarship Awards 2025:
The ACJS Restorative and Community Justice Section has budgeted up to $750.00 (USD) to provide a minimum of two (2) student scholarship (ranging from $250 to $500 USD) to assist in offsetting the costs of presenting a paper (or poster) at the ACJS annual meeting.
Information regarding applying for the Scholarship(s):
- The scholarships are open to all students (Undergraduate, MA, or Ph.D.)
- The student must be a member of ACJS.
- The student must be a member of the ACJS Restorative and Community Justice Section.
- The student will have submitted the abstract for the paper to ACJS and been accepted to present.
- The paper must have direct relevance to the section (i.e. be a paper focused on restorative and/or community justice).
- The student must be able to give a short talk on their piece at the section meeting in Denver, CO.
- The student will submit the abstract for the paper as well as the ACJS poster/paper acceptance email to the Chair of the Scholarship committee, Dr. Brandon Stroup (brandon.stroup@vermontstate.edu), no later than December 15, 2024. Late submissions will not be accepted.
- The scholarship committee will review the submissions and inform student applicants of the final status of the scholarship application no later than January 15, 2025. The review process will include:
- Relevance to the Restorative and Community Justice Section and its mission which can be found in the by-laws located here.
Priority will be given to students:
Submitting their own individual paper or poster for presentation.
- Submitting a co-authored paper or poster for presentation; and in the event that 2 students are co-authoring a paper or poster, the paper would be considered a single application and the two students would split the awarded scholarship amount. The number of applications will also be a consideration in determining the awarding of scholarships.
SECURITY AND CRIME PREVENTION SECTION AWARDS
The Security and Crime Prevention Section of ACJS is sponsoring a peer-reviewed student paper competition. Students can win an award of $250 that will be awarded at the 2025 annual ACJS Conference. Two awards may be made—one for an undergraduate student paper and one for a graduate student paper. Please read the following rules:
Paper Competition Criteria
• The competition is open to all undergraduate and graduate students who are enrolled in a higher education institution (including junior or community colleges).
• Only single-author presentation/papers are eligible; jointly written or co-authored papers are not permitted. The definition of a single-author is a student who has written the presentation/paper independently, even though other researchers or contributors may have been involved in the project or subject matter. Researchers and contributors, such as supervisors who assisted in the paper must be acknowledged in the paper, but not as an author.
• A paper should present, as completely as possible, the original work of the author performing the work, interpreting the results, and preparing the paper. Submitting or presenting others’ work as one’s own will result in removal from the competition.
• The subject of a presentation/paper must be directly related to security and crime prevention.
• A presentation/paper based on coursework is eligible.
Submission Requirements
All entries must be submitted electronically by an applicant or his/her faculty mentor who is a member of the ACJS Security and Crime Prevention section. This member serves as the sponsor of the student paper competition. The paper must be submitted to the Student Paper Committee Chair, Dr. Jared Dmello at jared.dmello@adelaide.edu.au on or before December 15, 2024 at 11:59 pm EST. Entries received after this date will not be accepted.
Formatting: All manuscript documents must be submitted as Microsoft Word documents. The text must be in 12-point Times New Roman font. The paper should conform to the APA style of writing and citation. At a minimum, the paper should include the following: ABSTRACT, INTRODUCTION, LITERATURE REVIEW (optional), METHODS, FINDINGS, DISCUSSION, CONCLUSION, and REFERENCES. These headers must be bold and capitalized. The entire manuscript cannot be less than 7,500 words or less (including the abstract, legends, and references). Any manuscript less than 7,500 words will not be accepted for review. All submitted papers must also have a statement from the author that the paper is an original work. All submitted papers will be checked for plagiarism. Papers with plagiarism will be eliminated from the competition and referred to the ACJS Ethics Committee .
Submitted papers will be blind reviewed by a panel of at least 3 judges who are members of the Security and Crime Prevention Section of ACJS. The paper will be evaluated on the following broad categories:
• Originality of the Research
• Contribution to the field of Security and Crime Prevention
• Quality of Writing
• Quality of the Research
The recipients of the award will be notified in writing on or before January 15, 2025.
The awards will be presented at the General Business meeting of the Security and Crime Prevention Section at the 2025 Annual ACJS Conference. Please direct all questions to Dr. Jared Dmello at jared.dmello@adelaide.edu.au.
Security and Crime Prevention Awards Competition: 2025
The following three Section awards have been approved by the ACJS and will be presented for the first time at the March 2024 ACJS Annual Conference in Denver. Interested candidates should respond with their complete application no later than December 1, 2024. Award recipients will be notified by January 15, 2025. Please submit your applications to the Section Awards Committee Chair, Mark Moore at Mark.Moore@bucks.edu on or before December 1, 2024 at 11:59 pm EST.
• Lifetime Achievement Award – This award recognizes sustained outstanding professional contributions by an individual to the broadly defined areas of security and crime prevention research. The award is not given for any single research project of study but rather for a body of research developed over one’s career. Scholarly contributions may be empirical or theoretical. Professional contributions also include advocating for applied security and crime prevention research as an area of scholarship within criminology and criminal justice and related disciplines as well as mentoring students, faculty, or practitioners. Persons who have made substantial practical contributions to the field are also eligible to receive this award. Recipients must be late-career scholars in the field. Retired scholars can be considered. Nominations should include up to two letters of support and up to two supplemental submissions of lifetime achievement.
• Early Career Award – This award recognizes the achievement of scholars who show outstanding merit at the beginning of their careers. Outstanding merit may be based on a single book or work, including a series of theoretical or research contributions to the field of security and crime prevention. The nominee must have earned a Ph.D. within the last five years and be non-tenured. Early scholars working alone or as part of a team of co-authors currently employed in an academic program are eligible. Nominations must include a letter of nomination (max. 1,000 words) and a curriculum vitae. Submission of additional supporting materials is recommended.
• Outstanding Contribution Award – This award recognizes outstanding service contributions by a Section member to the Security and Crime Prevention Section. Service may include mentoring, serving as an officer of the Section, committee work for the Section, or other related groups in the security and crime prevention field. Nominations must include up to three letters of support and up to two supplemental submissions of evidence of service to the field/Section. These should detail the nominee's outstanding contributions and their impacts on the field. An SCP member may win this award for a second or more time, provided three years have elapsed since the member last received this award.
TEACHING, LEARNING, AND SCHOLARSHIP SECTION AWARDS
The TLS section awards recognize outstanding contributions to teaching, learning, and scholarship in criminal justice. Members are encouraged to nominate colleagues that have exhibited dedication to innovative and evidence-based teaching and learning methods that result in research-based expanded student learning. Self-nominations are also welcomed. Deadline: January 15, 2025.
TLS Fellow Award in recognition of distinguished contribution to criminal justice education. This award honors a criminal justice faculty member who has demonstrated outstanding contributions to teaching and learning. It requires at least five years of teaching criminal justice, criminology, or related courses. The TLS Fellows Award is considered the highest honor of the Section and reflects long-term and substantial contributions to the fields of teaching and learning. Winners will receive a $100 cash award, a plaque of recognition, and will be honored at the annual TLS Section General Business Meeting. Self-nominations are allowed and encouraged.
TLS Innovative Design Award in recognition of an outstanding and innovative pedagogical method in criminal justice. Winners will receive a $50 cash award, a plaque of recognition, and will be honored at the annual TLS Section General Business Meeting. Self-nominations are allowed and encouraged.
TLS Outstanding Scholarship Award in recognition of an outstanding article on teaching or learning in criminal justice published within the past two years. Winners will receive a $50 cash award, a plaque of recognition, and will be honored at the annual TLS Section General Business Meeting. Self-nominations are allowed and encouraged.
TLS Outstanding Graduate Student Award is in recognition of an outstanding current graduate student who is actively engaged in course development, instructional techniques, and involvement with students in the classroom. Examples include 1) creation or use of new and innovative teaching methods and course materials and 2) creation of challenging and/or innovative courses. Nominations must include 1) two letters in support (1 to 3 pages), and 2) a letter from the nominator that provides rationale and evidence for why the nominee has advanced learning through pedagogically sound and innovative curriculum design, and (3) a syllabus and other supporting documents related to the pedagogical method. Evidence may include design research indicating enhanced learning, persistence, or student evaluations. Winners will receive a $50 cash award, a plaque of recognition, and will be honored at the annual TLS Section General Business Meeting. Self-nominations are allowed and encouraged.
Please submit all applications to the TLS Chair Allen Wong, wonga9@wit.edu.
VICTIMOLOGY SECTION AWARDS
New Scholar Award. To recognize the achievements of a scholar who shows outstanding merit at the beginning of their career. Outstanding merit may be based on a single book or work, including the dissertation or a series of theoretical or research contributions to the area of Victimology. Eligibility includes scholars who are active ACJS members and members of the Victimology section and have held a Ph.D. for less than five years at the time of their nomination.
In submitting your nominations, provide the following supporting materials:
1. A letter evaluating the nominee's contribution and its relevance to this award.
2. Applicant's/nominee's vitae (short version preferred).
3. No more than three published works, which may include a combination of articles and one book.
Outstanding Graduate Student Award. To recognize a graduate student who has demonstrated significant promise in “making a difference” to the field of Victimology. Evidence of their commitment to the field can be illustrated through scholarship, victim advocacy, volunteer work in victim services, or other activities associated with improving the response to victimization. The winner of this award will receive a plaque and a monetary stipend of $150.
To be eligible for this award, the candidate must either be currently enrolled or have been enrolled within the past year in an accredited criminal justice, criminology, or related graduate program. A nomination letter must be submitted by a faculty member who is familiar with the candidate’s work that summarizes the candidate’s contributions to the field of Victimology. Once nominated, the candidate must submit a packet that includes their vita/resume and a supporting statement of no more than 1,000 words that clearly demonstrates how their accomplishments align with the award’s criteria.
Victimology Impact Award. To recognize an individual who has made a significant contribution to the field of Victimology, victims’ rights, or victim services in the past 12 months by advancing an innovative victim-centered policy or practice via scholarship, policy development or implementation, and/or service to the community. The winner of this award will receive a plaque, a monetary stipend to cover membership dues to ACJS and the Victimology Section and will be invited to serve as the keynote speaker at the Victimology Section’s general meeting at the next annual ACJS conference.
The nomination letter must articulate in 1,500 words or less how the candidate’s accomplishments align with the award’s criteria. Once nominated, the candidate must submit a copy of their resume/vita.
Please submit nominations via email by October 16, 2024 to:
Elizabeth Wright, Immediate Past Chair, ACJS Victimology Section
Chair of Awards Subcommittee
Middle Tennessee State University
Department of Criminal Justice Administration
Elizabeth.Wright@mtsu.edu