Michael J. Hindelang (born 1945 in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

, died March 27, 1982, in

Schenectady, New York Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-largest city by population. The city is in eastern New Y ...

) was an American criminologist.

Early life and education

Hindelang was born in

. He received his B.A. in psychology in 1966 and his master's degree in 1967, both from

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...

. He received his doctorate in criminology from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

in 1969.

Career

In 1970, Hindelang joined the faculty of the

University at Albany The State University of New York at Albany, commonly referred to as the University at Albany, UAlbany or SUNY Albany, is a public research university with campuses in Albany, Rensselaer, and Guilderland, New York. Founded in 1844, it is one ...

, where he became a full professor in 1976. He remained on the faculty there until his death. In 1972, he founded the Criminal Justice Research Center at this university. While at the University at Albany he collaborated with, among other researchers,

Travis Hirschi Travis Warner Hirschi (April 15, 1935 – January 2, 2017) was an American sociologist and an emeritus professor of sociology at the University of Arizona. He helped to develop the modern version of the social control theory of crime and later ...

, on multiple research projects pertaining to delinquency. Their collaboration produced a paper regarding the link between IQ and delinquency, as well as the 1981 book ''Measuring Delinquency'', which was co-authored by Hindelang, Hirschi, and Joseph Weis. Hindelang and Hirschi, along with

Michael R. Gottfredson Michael Ryan Gottfredson (born January 16, 1951) is the former President of the University of Oregon, serving from August 1, 2012 to August 6, 2014. Biography He has a B.A from the University of California, Davis, a M.A. and a Ph.D. from the Stat ...

, also collaborated on a paper criticizing research on the age-crime curve, a paper which later became one of Hirschi's most famous. However, as Hindelang's health declined, he became unable to contribute more to this paper toward the end of his life. He served as associate editor for the ''

Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency ''Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes papers in the field of Criminology. The journal's editors Jean McGloin (University of Maryland) and Chris Sullivan (University of Missouri–St. Lo ...

'' from 1977 to 1980.

Death

Hindelang died on March 27, 1982, of a

brain tumor A brain tumor occurs when abnormal cells form within the brain. There are two main types of tumors: malignant tumors and benign (non-cancerous) tumors. These can be further classified as primary tumors, which start within the brain, and seconda ...

. He was 36 years old when he died.

Recognition

After Hindelang died in 1982, the Criminal Justice Research Center he founded at the University at Albany was renamed the Hindelang Criminal Justice Research Center. In 1991, the

American Society of Criminology The American Society of Criminology (ASC) is an international organization based on the campus of Ohio State University whose members focus on the study of crime and delinquency. It aims to grow and disseminate scholarly research, with members wo ...

created the Michael J. Hindelang Award, which is given annually to a book that the Society thinks "makes the most outstanding contribution to research in criminology" of any book published in the three previous years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hindelang, Michael J. 1945 births 1982 deaths People from Detroit Wayne State University alumni University of California, Berkeley alumni University at Albany, SUNY faculty American criminologists Deaths from brain cancer in the United States