Henry N. Pontell, PhD, distinguished professor of sociology, received the 2024 David O. Friedrichs Teaching Award from the American Society of Criminology (ASC) Division of White-Collar and Corporate Crime. The award celebrates the life and achievements of David O. Friedrichs and recognizes innovative contributions to teaching in the area of white-collar crime. Pontell will receive the award at the 2024 ASC Annual Meeting in November.
The award committee commented:
“Your innovative approach to teaching in the field of white-collar crime exemplifies the spirit of this award. Through the development of comprehensive courses, engaging seminars and cutting-edge pedagogical materials, you have significantly advanced the criminology and criminal justice curriculum. Your commitment to fostering an in-depth understanding of white-collar crime among your students has not only enriched their academic experience but also equipped them with the knowledge and skills necessary to confront and mitigate these complex societal issues.”
“The committee was particularly impressed by your ability to integrate real-world case studies and contemporary research into your teaching methodology, thereby bridging the gap between theory and practice. Your dedication to mentoring students and encouraging them to pursue both research and practitioner-oriented careers underscores the impactful role you play in shaping the next generation of criminologists and criminal justice professionals. Receiving the David O. Friedrichs Teaching Award is a testament to your outstanding achievements and your relentless pursuit of educational excellence in the study of white-collar crime. We are confident that your continued efforts will inspire and influence future scholars and practitioners in this vital field.”
This is the fifth major award Pontell received in the last two years. He won the 2024 ASC August Vollmer Award for scholarship and professional activity that made outstanding contributions to justice and/or the prevention or treatment of criminal or delinquent behavior. In 2023, he was honored with two awards from the ASC Division of White-Collar & Corporate Crime: the 2023 Outstanding Book Award for Wayward Dragon: White-Collar and Corporate Crime in China (Springer), with Adam Ghazi-Tehrani, and the 2023 Outstanding Article Award for “In-Your-Face Watergate: Neutralizing Government Lawbreaking and the War Against White-Collar Crime” in Crime, Law and Social Change, with Robert Tillman and Adam Ghazi-Tehrani. Pontell also won the 2023 Bruce Smith, Sr. Award from the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences.
Pontell's research and teaching interests include deviance and social control, white-collar and corporate crime, punishment and criminal justice system capacity issues, financial and health care fraud, identity theft, political corruption, comparative criminology and cyber crime. He has lectured at universities and government offices throughout the world, testified before the U.S. Senate on financial fraud, given invited presentations to the National Academies and the U.S. Department of Justice and worked with numerous organizations and law enforcement agencies including the FBI and U.S. Secret Service. Pontell’s research on white-collar crime has been highlighted in the national and international media and he continues conducting domestic and comparative research on white-collar and corporate crime.
Pontell’s publications include The International Handbook of White-Collar and Corporate Crime (Springer), Social Deviance (McGraw Hill), Profit Without Honor: White-Collar Crime and the Looting of America (Pearson), Big Money Crime: Fraud and Politics in the Savings and Loan Crisis (University of California Press), A Capacity to Punish: The Ecology of Crime and Punishment (Indiana University Press), Contemporary Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice: Essays in Honor of Gilbert Geis (Pearson), Looting America: Greed, Corruption, Villains and Victims (Prentice Hall), Prescription for Profit: How Doctors Defraud Medicaid (University of California Press), Financial Crime and Crises in the Era of False Profits (Oxford University Press) and Wayward Dragon: White-Collar and Corporate Crime in China (Springer). Pontell is also editor of Keynotes in Criminology and Criminal Justice, an Oxford University Press book series, and editor-in-chief of the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice.
Among other awards and honors, Pontell received the Albert J. Reiss, Jr. Distinguished Scholarship Award from the Crime, Law and Deviance Section of the American Sociological Association, the Donald R. Cressey Award from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, the Paul Tappan and Joseph T. Lohman Awards from the Western Society of Criminology, the Herbert Bloch Award and the Gil Geis Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Society of Criminology, the Cecil and Ida Green Honors Chair at Texas Christian University and the Daniel G. Aldrich, Jr. Distinguished University Service Award from UC Irvine.
Pontell is an honorary fellow of the Centre for Criminology at the University of Hong Kong as well as a past vice president of the American Society of Criminology, a past president of the Western Society of Criminology and a fellow of both organizations.
