UMD Senior and CCJS Undergraduate Honors Student Dylan Sarubin was selected to receive the Peter P. Lejins Award for Academic Excellence, which recognizes the top undergraduate student in Criminology and Criminal Justice.

The Dr. Peter P. Lejins Memorial Award Endowed Fund was established in 1981 by gifts in honor of the retirement of Dr. Peter P. Lejins from the University Institute of Criminal Justice and Criminology. Dr. Lejins was a professor in Maryland’s criminology program from 1941 until receiving emeritus status in 2002.

To select the recipient of the Peter P. Leijins award, CCJS Undergraduate Director and Senior Lecturer Justine Madoo and Associate Director Nicole Amonett (Jackson) review top graduating seniors with high GPAs and strong departmental involvement.

“Dylan had both of these and stood out to us as our top graduating senior this year,” Madoo said.

Sarubin has been engaged in academic excellence throughout his college career, with his research for the Undergraduate Honors Program highlighting his curiosity and dedication as a scholar and researcher.

His honors thesis, titled, “Toward an Understanding of the Intergenerational Cycle of Violence: The Development and Pilot Test of the Intimate Partner Abuse Scales,” developed and assessed a novel instrument for measuring intimate partner abuse. Honors Program Director Bianca Bersani emphasized the quality and ambition of Sarubin’s research project.

“Dylan became very curious about measurement and instrument development in the social sciences and embarked on preliminary research to understand how we measure exposure to domestic violence,” she said. “Measurement is often not one of the more alluring topics in the social sciences and yet it is fundamental to our knowledge building…the significance of his inquiry is high.”

Sarubin spoke highly of his undergraduate experience and his time in the CCJS Undergraduate Honors Program.

“The honors program has been an incredible experience and I have grown significantly as a researcher under Dr. Bersani's guidance,” Sarubin said. “I will undoubtedly look back on my time in the program fondly and use the skills I have learned as I continue on my academic journey.”

Congratulations, Dylan!