Niagara University criminal justice professor wins Paper of the Year Award

Dr. Timothy Lauger, an assistant professor of criminology and criminal justice at Niagara University, was named the recipient of the James L. Maddex Jr. Paper of the Year Award for 2014.

Lauger's research, "Violent Stories: Personal Narratives, Street Socialization, and the Negotiation of Street Culture Among Street-Oriented Youth," was selected from among all of the articles published last year in the Criminal Justice Review, an academic, peer-reviewed journal.

"Violent Stories: Personal Narratives, Street Socialization, and the Negotiation of Street Culture Among Street-Oriented Youth" examines how personal stories about violent events shape and transmit street culture among active gang members and street-oriented youth. Drawing from ethnographic recordings of conversations between active gang members on the streets of Indianapolis, the study contends that personal narratives about violent events apply and help clarify the meaning of cultural ideas.

Lauger was honored with a commemorative plaque and honorarium for the article during a reception held last month in Washington, D.C.

The James L. Maddex Jr. Paper of the Year Award is named for the supporter and professor emeritus of the department of criminal justice and criminology at Georgia State University, which co-sponsors the award with SAGE Publications Inc. Maddex is also a former editor of the Criminal Justice Review.

"Having a research paper published by the Criminal Justice Review is already quite an accomplishment; to have an article chosen as the best of the year by such a prominent publication is a testament to the high quality of faculty at Niagara University and speaks to the remarkable scholarly work of Dr. Lauger," said Dr. Tim Ireland, dean of NU's College of Arts and Sciences.

A Wisconsin native, Lauger possesses a bachelor's degree from Calvin College and a doctorate from Indiana University Bloomington. He has been a member of the Niagara University faculty since 2012.

To learn more about Niagara University's criminology and criminal justice programs, call 716-286-8080 or visit www.niagara.edu/crj.