The Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice is pleased to announce that Dr. Sally Simpson has been awarded the title of Distinguished University Professor. This official title is the highest academic honor conferred upon University of Maryland faculty members and is reserved for a small number of exceptional scholars. She joins three other CCJS faculty who have received this award: Lawrence Sherman, John Laub, and Terrence Thornberry.
Dr. Simpson joined the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice in 1989. She moved up the ranks, being promoted to Full Professor in 2002. In 2004, she took over as the Chair of the Department—a position she held until 2012. She also served as Interim Department Chair from 2017-2018. Dr. Simpson has also furthered this leadership role in her major research specialty area—the study of corporate crime. In 2013, she helped create the Center for Business Ethics, Regulation and Crime (C-BERC) and became its director. In the years since, C-BERC has been engaged in promoting a research agenda for the study of white collar and corporate crime.
Dr. Simpson's contributions to the field have been recognized by a wide variety of high prestige elections, appointments, and awards. She was President of the American Society of Criminology (ASC), the world's largest and most prestigious professional association of criminology, from 2020-2021. She has served as the Vice Chair of the Committee on Crime, Law, and Justice of the National Academy of Sciences. She has also served as the President of the Association of Doctoral Programs in Criminology and Criminal Justice and as the Chair of the American Sociological Association’s section on Crime, Law, and Deviance. In 1999 she received the Herbert Bloch award for outstanding contributions to the profession. In 2008, she received the Distinguished Scholar Award from the ASC’s Division of Women and Crime. In 2009, she was named a Fellow of the ASC—again, the largest and most important professional association in criminology. In 2010, she was named University of Maryland’s Woman of the Year by the President’s Commission on Women’s Issues. In 2013 she was recognized with the Gil Geis Lifetime Achievement Award from the National White-Collar Crime Center. And in 2018, she received the Edwin Sutherland Award from the American Society of Criminology—the highest award bestowed by that organization.
Professor Simpson has been recognized nationally and internationally for the importance of her scholarly achievements. She is known as one of the world’s most important figures in the study of corporate crime. CCJS is thrilled to see her recognized for her excellence as a scholar, teacher, and public servant.