Laurie Robinson, Clarence J. Robinson Professor of Criminology, Law and Society (CLS), retired at the end of the spring 2021 semester after nine years of exemplary service. Following a distinguished career in public service (including as former Assistant Attorney General, leading the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs), Laurie joined the Department of Criminology, Law and Society in 2012. Since then, she has made invaluable contributions to Mason’s visibility and reputation as a world class university, and to the growth and success of CLS.
During her time at Mason, Laurie served as Co-Chair on President Obama’s White House Task Force on 21st Century Policing, and as a member on the distinguished Charles Colson Task Force on Federal Corrections. Both task forces produced recommendations that have had important effects on shaping police reform and the federal corrections’ agenda.
Within CLS, Laurie played a key role in the creation of the new Masters of Science (MS) Program in Criminal Justice, and in teaching its signature capstone course. Implemented in 2018, the MS program has been a great success and continues to grow. With her input, the MS is designed to equip Mason students with practical skills in program evaluation, research, writing, communication, leadership, and ethics.
Laurie also taught a very popular course in the Honors College modeled on the 1967 President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice, and she will remain a Senior Fellow at Mason’s Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy. In addition to her service and teaching, Laurie has been an active scholar, writing and publishing on a wide variety of issues, often in outlets designed to influence policymakers and practitioners directly. She has also received numerous invitations to speak on cable television.
Based on her impressive contributions to Mason in creating knowledge, teaching excellence, and serving the community, she was recently honored with Emerita status by Mason’s Board of Visitors. We shall miss her greatly, and wish her all the best for a happy and healthy retirement.
July 28, 2021