Dr. Larry Hoover, a longtime faculty member at the College of Criminal Justice and Director of the Police Research Center (PRC), was named a Distinguished Professor for his outstanding contributions to Sam Houston State University and the criminal justice field.
“I couldn’t be any prouder to be a Bearkat than I am now,” said Hoover, accepting the award at the CJ Leadership Luncheon.
Dr. Hoover joins two other Distinguished Professors at the College of Criminal Justice, Dr. Charles Friel and Dr. Rolando del Carmen, both now retired. The title is bestowed upon faculty members at SHSU who have outstanding achievements in their disciplines, receive national recognition for their scholarly contributions, and demonstrate valuable service to their field of study.
“Dr. Hoover’s contributions to the College, University, and field are remarkable for their breadth, depth, frequency, and impact,” said Dr. Phillip Lyons, Dean of the College of Criminal Justice and Director of the Criminal Justice Center. “He is an amazingly insightful scholar and policy analyst whose work finds applications in the field that is direct and substantial.”
Dr. Hoover began his career as a police officer in Lansing, Michigan and served with the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards, where he developed basic and advanced training programs for the state’s officers. He also served on the faculty of Michigan State University.
He joined the faculty at Sam Houston State University in 1977. In Texas, he developed advanced certification standards for both police and correctional officers for the then Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education. He also was instrumental in creating the Major Cities Initiative at the Bill Blackwood Law Enforcement Institute of Texas (LEMIT). His contributions to LEMIT were recognized by the creation, in his name, of a distinguished lecture series addressing innovative and emerging issues in policing.
Dr. Hoover published five books addressing diverse issues in law enforcement, including police response to persons with mental illness, police management, police program evaluation, quality control in policing, and police crime control strategies. He also has written many book chapters and published articles in the Journal of Criminal Justice, Justice Quarterly, Police Quarterly, Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies and Management, International Journal of Police Science and Management, Law Enforcement Executive Forum, the International Personnel Management Association’s Public Personnel Management, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Monthly Labor Review, Security Administration, Liberal Education, and the International Journal of Applied Geospatial Research.
Dr. Hoover is a past president of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences and has received awards from the organization, including the 2003 Founder's Award as well as the O.W. Wilson Award, recognizing enduring contributions to policing. He was also the recipient of the Excellence in Research Award from SHSU, and was recognized in 2005 by Michigan State University by induction to its School of Criminal Justice "Wall of Fame."
In addition to Dr. Hoover’s university-wide award, The College of Criminal Justice recognized him with the Excellence in Service Award. Other College awards, which were presented at this year’s Honor’s Convocation, included:
- Dr. Travis Franklin, Excellence in Teaching
- Dr. Magdalena Denham, Excellence in Community Engagement
- Dr. Jeff Bouffard, Excellence in Research