Dr. Michael S. Vaughn of the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, a Sam Houston State University Ph.D. Alumnus, was named a Fellow by the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS), a prestigious honor bestowed upon only three other faculty in the College of Criminal Justice over the 35-year history of the award.
The Academy Fellow Award is one of the top honors given by the largest criminal justice organization in the country and recognizes distinguished teaching and scholarly achievement. The award is given to an ACJS member who has taught crime and/or criminal justice for at least five years; achieved scholarly success through books, articles, reviews, technical reports, grants or papers; is active in leadership or in presenting workshops, panels or conferences for ACJS, and who had has achieved other accolades in the field.
Previous honorees from the College of Criminal Justice include Dr. Rolando del Carmen and former Deans Drs. Vincent Webb and Timothy J. Flanagan. Dr. Vaughn studied under the tutelage of Dr. del Carmen.
“Dr. Vaughn joins the ranks of top-notch, well-respected scholars who are ACJS Fellows – note how short this list truly is!,” said Dr. Gaylene Armstrong, Chair of the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology. “Mike you are in amazing company – congrats!”
Dr. Vaughn joined the College of Criminal Justice at Sam Houston State University in May 2006 and serves as Co-Director of the Institute for Legal Studies in Criminal Justice. Vaughn's research interests primarily are related to legal issues in criminal justice, and his areas of expertise include constitutional law, correctional/prison law, criminal law, criminal procedure, prison health care, and state tort law.
Dr. Vaughn has served as Book Review Editor of the Journal of Criminal Justice Education (1993-1996), Editor of Police Forum (1997-2001), Editor of the Criminal Justice Review (2001-2005), and Editor of the International Criminal Justice Review (2001-2005. He has published extensively in criminal justice books, journals, and law reviews.
At SHSU, Dr. Vaughn served as Assistant Dean for Graduate Studies from 2009-2012. Before joining SHSU, Dr. Vaughn was a professor and Chair of the Department of Criminal Justice at Georgia State University. Dr. Vaughn received many honors and awards during his career, including for his mentorship of students, his scholarly pursuits and his service to the field. Among these are the Distinguished Alumni Award from Sam Houston State University, College of Criminal Justice; the Outstanding Faculty Achievement Award from Georgia State University; several Anderson Publishing Company Paper Award from ACJS; and top rankings from the Journal of Criminal Justice Education.