Today@Sam Article

Professor Reflects On Semester As Beto Scholar In Residence With SHSU CJ

Dec. 3, 2024
SHSU Media Contact: Mikah Boyd

The Sam Houston State University College of Criminal Justice (SHSU CJ) was honored to host Shaun Gabbidon as the latest Beto Chair Scholar in Residence for the fall 2024 semester, the first since 2016 when Bitna Kim served in the role.

“One of the things that attracted me here was that SHSU has a college of criminal justice,” said Gabbidon, distinguished professor of criminal justice in the Penn State Harrisburg School of Public Affairs. “There is a uniqueness to this place that’s been invigorating. There’s more depth with many different interests and a wide variety of scholars working in all different areas. Pretty much everything is covered here.”

Since its launch in 1981, the endowed Beto Chair program, named in honor of George J. Beto, and has welcomed leading scholars in the criminal justice field as they collaborate with SHSU CJ graduate students and faculty. The Beto Chair program also hosts a lecture series where scholars discuss their latest research and supports a faculty fellow.

Danielle Boisvert, SHSU CJ senior associate dean and chair of the Beto Chair committee says each visiting academic professional greatly enhances the SHSU CJ student experience.

“For decades, the SHSU College of Criminal Justice has hosted exceptional scholars as part of the Beto Chair program,” Boisvert said. “Shaun’s semester with SHSU CJ has been transformational for the doctoral students in his class as they worked toward publishing a scholarly article.”

During his tenure with SHSU CJ, Gabbidon taught a doctoral level class on race and crime while on sabbatical from Penn State Harrisburg.

“SHSU has a great reputation for its doctoral students and it’s certainly living up to that,” Gabbidon said. “Their intellectual curiosity and creative ideas are taking the class project on consumer racial profiling to areas I would not have considered in the past. I’ve benefitted from this experience as much as they have.”

“It’s a pleasure to have Dr. Gabbidon serve as the Beto Scholar in Residence this semester,” Stuti Kokkalera, SHSU CJ’s current Beto Fellow, said. “His enthusiasm and passion for research is truly evident in his willingness to collaborate and engage with graduate students as well as faculty members.”

Gabbidon is also the founding editor of Race and Justice: An International Journal and recently served as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Criminal Justice Education. He has also written 13 books and published over 75 peer-reviewed articles for many highly respected journals, including, Criminology, Justice Quarterly, Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, Crime & Delinquency and Journal of Criminal Justice.

He is one of fewer than ten criminologists to be named a Fellow with the American Society of Criminology and the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences.

Other accolades include Spring 2025 Fulbright Distinguished Scholar at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom, where he will be in residence from January until July 2025.

He has also received Penn State University’s highest award for scholarship, the 2024 Penn State Faculty Honor Medal for Social and Behavioral Sciences. In 2020 and 2023, he was rated the 24th most influential criminologist in the world today, #16 in the past 20 years, #41 in the past 50 years and the 70th most influential criminologist of all-time by AcademicInfluence.com.

Gabbidon says he looks forward to maintaining a permanent connection to his expanded academic family.

“I wish I could have stayed for a year, because this has been such a great experience,” Gabbidon said. “I think the connections I made are going to last well beyond my time here. I look forward to future collaborative opportunities with SHSU faculty and students.” 

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