Full Professor
Awards and Honors
Nominated by University of Baltimore for Maryland Board of Regents Research Award
Education
Ph.D., University of Colorado-Boulder
M.B.A., University of Baltimore
M.A., University of Colorado-Boulder
B.A., University of Toronto
By the summer of 1979, after dropping out of high school and bouncing around in a succession of transient, low-wage jobs, I was working full-time as a cab driver. This experience had numerous challenges, but I enjoyed that each day was an adventure, and I constantly met and talked with different people. I decided I was destined for a profession that would allow me to continue working with and helping individuals on a regular basis. I contemplated a career as a psychologist or psychiatrist. I knew, however, that I'd need a university education to do so.
I enrolled in the pre-university program at the University of Toronto and, after considerable hard work and a little bit of luck, was accepted into first-year studies at the U of T.
I initially struggled in my studies, but a couple of excellent mentors helped me settle into the program. To support myself, I started working part-time, then full-time, in a correctional facility. I eventually earned a master's degree and a doctorate in political science at the University of Colorado. Over time, however, my interests seemed to align more with criminology and criminal justice.
Looking back, I suppose it's fitting that I became a criminologist. Over the years, most of the kids I grew up with fell into or chose one of three careers: police officers, criminals, or lawyers. So, as the author M. Scott Peck once said, I took "the road less traveled."
And the rest, as they say, is history.
Over the past three decades, I have researched, written, and lectured primarily on corrections, policing, political crime (especially terrorism and state crime), violence (criminal principally, political, and religious), crime and justice in Indian Country, and global crime and criminal justice. My work has appeared in many academic journals and books, as well as in popular media outlets.
Since 1998, after working for three years with the U.S. Department of Justice, I began work as a criminologist at the University of Baltimore and currently hold the positions of professor in the College of Public Affairs School of Criminal Justice and fellow at the Center for International and Comparative Law and the Schaefer Center for Public Policy.
Since starting my career, I have authored, co-authored, edited, or co-edited several books, the most recent of which is Introduction to Convict Criminology (Bristol University Press, 2024).
The University of Baltimore offers an excellent working and learning environment where I can combine my experience, interests, and skills to enable students to excel academically and professionally.
You can learn more about me on my website, www.jeffreyianross.com.
corrections, policing, political crime, crimes of the powerful, street culture, graffiti and street art
policing, corrections, contemporary criminal justice system
Books
Ross, J. (2024). INTRODUCTION TO CONVICT CRIMINOLOGY. Policy Press. 200.
Ross, J., & Vianello, F. (2020). CONVICT CRIMINOLOGY FOR THE FUTURE. Routledge.
Ross, J. (2020). ROUTLEDGE HANDBOOK OF STREET CULTURE. Routledge.
Ross, J. I. (2020). Convict Criminology for the Future. Routledge.
Book Chapters
Ross, J. (2021). Graf and street art in defiance of Trump, his family and his administration. Berghahn Books.
Ross, J. (2020). Foreword: Mediating the Prison Gaze. v-vii.
Refereed Journal Articles
Ross, J. I., Tewksbury, R., Samuelsen, L., & Caneff, T. (2021). War Stories: Analyzing Memoirs and Autobiographical Treatments of Correctional Professionals,”. 22(3),
Ross, J. I. (2020). Everything you wanted to know about Convict Criminology but were too afraid to ask,. Locali e Servizi Sociali. 30(3), 615-629.
Ross, J. I., Lennon, J. F., & Kramer, R. (2020). Moving beyond Banksy and Fairey: Interrogating the co-optation and commodification of modern graffiti and street art. Visual Inquiry.
Non-Refereed Journal Articles
Ross, J., Lennon, J. L., & Kramer, R. (2020). Co-edited special issue of the journal VISUAL INQUIRY. VISUAL INQUIRY.
Book Reviews
Ross, J. (2020). Review of GOING ALL CITY. Visual Inquiry.
WWWLAMFM: Interviewed by Tommy Tucker on WWWLAMFM Radio (New Orleans) about the current crime and law enforcement challenges in Baltimore, August 1, 2019. (2020).
WJZ: Interviewed by Hellgren on WJZ re Baltimore Police releasing body-worn camera footage of the now-viral video of an officer striking a woman after she struck another officer twice, June 2, 2020. (2020).
Fox-45: Interviewed by Shelly Orman for a segment on the Correlation Between Crime and Education in Baltimore by FOX-45 Baltimore, May 28, 2020 (2020).
Fox-45: Quoted in a segment by FOX-45 Baltimore on continued high levels of homicides in Baltimore during COVID-19, April 6, 2020 (2020).
Fox Baltimore: Interviewed by John Rydell, Fox Baltimore, for a piece "Baltimore's new crime plan,” January 3, 2020. (2020).
"I've got better things to worry about: Police perceptions of graffiti and street art in a large Mid-Atlantic city" (Writing Results)
In order to better understand law enforcement opinions of urban graffiti a survey was administered to officers in a large Mid-Atlantic city. The results indicated that there was a difference among officer response based on their race and work shift.