Ronald Louis Akers (born January 7, 1939 in

New Albany, Indiana New Albany is a city in Floyd County, Indiana, United States, situated along the Ohio River, opposite Louisville, Kentucky. The population was 37,841 as of the 2020 census. The city is the county seat of Floyd County. It is bounded by I-265 t ...

) is an American criminologist and professor emeritus of

criminology Criminology (from Latin , "accusation", and Ancient Greek , ''-logia'', from λόγος ''logos'' meaning: "word, reason") is the study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is an interdisciplinary field in both the behavioural and so ...

and law at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Career

Akers taught

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...

at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

from 1965–72, criminology at

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...

from 1972–4, and sociology at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

from 1974–80. He chaired the department of sociology at the University of Iowa from 1978 to 1980, when he became a professor at the University of Florida. From 1980 to 1985, he chaired the department of sociology at the University of Florida, and in 1994, he became the director of the Center for Studies in Criminology and Law there.

Awards and positions

In 1979, Akers served as president of 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 ...

, and he received its Edwin H. Sutherland Award in 1988.

References

External links

Faculty page
* {{Criminologist-stub 1939 births Living people American criminologists Presidents of the American Society of Criminology People from New Albany, Indiana University of Florida faculty Indiana State University alumni Kent State University alumni University of Kentucky alumni University of Washington faculty Florida State University faculty University of Iowa faculty