Relentless Curiosity Drives Criminal Justice Chair’s Impactful Research

By Stephanie Godward, Communications and Marketing Director, College of Arts & Sciences 

One of the first pioneers in researching the area of cyber crime in the field of Criminal Justice, Department Chair George Higgins continues to innovate to help shape policy that will improve lives. 

“The one thing that is really driving me right now is looking at the intersection of cyberbullying and substance use abuse. My team and I are actually trying to come up with theoretical reasons why that intersection is apparent,” Higgins said. “This way, we can try to develop some type of a policy to take to different school systems or different treatment organizations so that they can look out for this and know how to handle it.” 

Higgins is now set to embark on a new chapter of his career as he has recently been named interim dean of the Graduate School and interim vice provost for graduate affairs, effective May 18. 

Higgins earned his Ph.D. in Criminology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 2001.  He is the author of more than 230 peer-reviewed scholarly journal articles that appear in Criminal Justice and Behavior, Justice Quarterly, Deviant Behavior, and many others.   

He is also the author of 10 books and has received numerous awards, including the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS) Academy Fellow, ACJS Founder's Award, 2 book awards from ASC and ACJS, Educator of the Year from the Southern Criminal Justice Association, and several others.   

He says another key driver of his work is simply the fear of missing out on learning something new. 

“I am always trying to get one more thing understood,” Higgins said. 

With years of scholarly research published, Higgins is a prolific writer. Looking back at what he’s published so far, he states that his book, “Digital Piracy: An Integrated Theoretical Approach,” is most popular among academics. 

“In the popular culture, the book that I did with Shaun Gabbidon, ‘Shopping While Black: Consumer Racial Profiling in America,’ seems to be very popular. There was a segment where Shaun  took our content and was a consultant on the television show ‘What would you do?’ on ABC.” 

On a segment of the hidden-camera show, different scenarios were presented in which people were being consumer racially profiled.  

“That book I felt is very valuable and impactful to a different audience than the academic world,” Higgins said. 

Over the years, Higgins has held almost every leadership position one can have in the Criminal Justice Department. He states that he is lucky to have been given the space to make mistakes and to learn along the way from other department chairs who came before him. 

“We talk about leading like a scientist – that comes naturally to me because of the 230 journal articles and the books I have written, but also knowing the innerworkings of the department allows me to sit down and ask people questions with the patience to listen to them answer on more than one occasion,” he said. “Each time, I take a different kernel of information.” 

Higgins said the awards he has received over the years are a symbol of his leadership and the people he has worked with along the way. 

“Professionally, it means I made an impact,” he said. “The Founder’s Award is about service, so it means I was helpful and continue to do so. The Academy Fellow is more about making an impact through research. Personally, it means I’m old,” he laughs. “They are nice things to see and have.” 

His advice to students is this: always be curious. 

“Ask as many questions that come to mind and be relentless in asking those questions. If someone turns you down, go to someone else and ask the same question,” he said. “Be willing. When it comes down to it, you need to be willing to go and do the work after you have those answers. It’s about really digging deep and trying to figure out more.”