Renowned Scholar Rod Brunson Joins the CCJS Faculty

The Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice is pleased to welcome Rod K. Brunson to the faculty. Brunson’s research informs criminal justice policy and crime control practices.

“We are delighted to welcome Rod Brunson to our department. Rod is one of the leading scholars on police-community relations in the world,” said Professor Gary LaFree, chair of the department. “He will be engaged in research and teaching on how concentrated neighborhood disadvantages are linked to criminal violence in America.”

In the fall, Brunson will teach a course on police-community relations. “The primary learning objective is to facilitate students’ understanding of well-established issues in the delivery of police services across a wide range of ecological contexts,” Brunson said.

Brunson comes to Maryland from Northeastern University, where he served as the Thomas P. O’Neill Jr. Chair of Public Life; professor of criminology and criminal justice and of political science; and director of graduate mentoring and diversity initiatives within the College of Social Sciences and Humanities. He is also a Fellow of the American Society of Criminology.

Brunson’s scholarship appears in numerous publications, including Criminology and the Journal of Research, Crime and Delinquency.

Brunson said he was drawn to Maryland because of the strength of the department, and the commitment he sees in areas of research and mentorship that are important to him.

“While UMD criminology has been the top-ranked program for decades, I recently had opportunities to engage with university leaders, allowing me to become familiar with the administration’s planned investments in addressing persistent social justice issues,” Brunson said. “I am personally committed to increasing the number of scholars from underrepresented groups in academia, and have been especially successful in encouraging students of color to pursue doctoral degrees. I look forward to continuing these efforts at Maryland.” 

Published on Thu, May 13, 2021 - 10:08AM