Terence Patrick Thornberry is an American criminologist who has been a Distinguished University Professor in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

since 2012. Before he joined the faculty of the University of Maryland in 2009, he was a professor of

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 Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Co ...

and the director of their Problem Behavior Program from 2004 to 2009. Before that, he was a professor at the

University at Albany, SUNY 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 ...

from 1984 to 2001, and a Distinguished Professor there from 2001 to 2004. He served as the dean of the

University at Albany, SUNY School of Criminal Justice The University at Albany, SUNY School of Criminal Justice (SCJ) is a school of the university at Albany, SUNY, offering both undergraduate and graduate programs in criminal justice. It was established in 1968, as a result of the desire of then-New Y ...

from 1984 to 1988 and as director of the Hindelang Criminal Justice Research Center there from 1997 to 2003. He is known for his research on

delinquency Delinquent or delinquents may refer to: * A person who commits a felony * A juvenile delinquent, often shortened as delinquent is a young person (under 18) who fails to do that which is required by law; see juvenile delinquency * A person who fa ...

, including the "interactional theory" he proposed in 1987 to explain its origins. This theory is based on

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 ...

's work on social bonding and Ronald Akers' work on

social learning theory Social learning is a theory of learning process social behavior which proposes that new behaviors can be acquired by observing and imitating others. It states that learning is a cognitive process that takes place in a social context and can occur p ...

References

External links

Faculty page
* Living people University of Maryland, College Park faculty University of Colorado faculty University at Albany, SUNY faculty American criminologists Fordham University alumni University of Pennsylvania alumni Year of birth missing (living people) {{Criminologist-stub