Academics

Criminal justice professor named among decade's most influential criminologists

Shaun Gabbidon recognized by Academic Influence as one of top academics in criminology from around the world

Shaun Gabbidon Credit: Penn State Harrisburg / Penn State. Creative Commons

MIDDLETOWN, Pa. — Shaun Gabbidon, distinguished professor of criminal justice in Penn State Harrisburg’s School of Public Affairs has been named one of the most influential criminologists of the last decade by Academic Influence, a team of academics and data scientists who aim to provide an objective ranking of people, places, and institutions. Their ranking system measures the impact of the work produced by the world’s top influencers.

According to Academic Influence, top influential criminologists of the decade have significantly impacted the academic discipline of criminology from 2010 to 2020. During the decade, Gabbidon was ranked the 24th most influential criminologist.  He also ranked as the 16th most influential criminologist in the past 20 years.

Gabbidon is a world-renowned criminologist. He has served as a fellow at Harvard University's W.E.B. Du Bois Institute and has taught at the Center for Africana Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. Gabbidon has authored more than 100 scholarly publications, including more than 70 peer-reviewed articles and 13 books. His most recent books include the co-authored monograph, “Shopping While Black: Consumer Racial Profiling in America”; “Criminological Perspectives on Race and Crime”; the co-authored texts “Race and Crime” and “Race, Ethnicity, Crime and Justice: An international Dilemma;” and the co-edited book, “Building a Black Criminology: Race, Theory, and Crime.”

His research interests include race and crime; public opinion on race, crime and justice; security administration; criminology; and criminal justice pedagogy.

The recipient of numerous awards, Gabbidon was most recently named a fellow of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences in 2019. In addition, he was the recipient of the 2015 Julius Debro Award for outstanding service, and the 2016 Outstanding Teaching Award, both from the Division on People of Color and Crime of the American Society of Criminology.

Gabbidon is a member of the American Society of Criminology and the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences. He is also the founding editor of Race and Justice: An International Journal, the leading journal in the area of race, ethnicity and justice. He currently is the editor of the Journal of Criminal Justice Education.

Gabbidon received his doctoral degree in criminology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, a master’s degree criminal justice from the University of Baltimore, and a bachelor of science degree in government administration from Christopher Newport University.

Last Updated November 1, 2021