Christopher J. Uggen (born 1964) is a Regents professor and Distinguished McKnight Professor of

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

and

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

, where he also holds the Martindale Chair in Sociology. Uggen is best known for his work on public criminology, desistance from crime and the life course, crime in the workplace,

sexual harassment Sexual harassment is a type of harassment based on the sex or gender of a victim. It can involve offensive sexist or sexual behavior, verbal or physical actions, up to bribery, coercion, and assault. Harassment may be explicit or implicit, wit ...

, and the effects of mass incarceration, including Felon disenfranchisement, reentry,

recidivism Recidivism (; from 'recurring', derived from 'again' and 'to fall') is the act of a person repeating an undesirable behavior after they have experienced negative consequences of that behavior, or have been trained to Extinction (psycholo ...

, and inequality.

Background and early education

Uggen attended the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

for undergraduate and graduate school, earning his PhD in 1995.

Career

Uggen began his studies at University of Minnesota in 1995, and was chair of the University of Minnesota sociology department from 2006 to 2012. Uggen gained recognition in the early 2000s for his research on work opportunities and recidivism. He went on to author a 2003 ''

American Sociological Review The ''American Sociological Review'' is a bi-monthly peer-reviewed academic journal covering all aspects of sociology. It is published by SAGE Publications on behalf of the American Sociological Association. It was established in 1936. It is along ...

'' article with sociologist Jeff Manza, "Democratic Contraction: Political Consequences of Felon Disenfranchisement in the United States," which gained significant attention after finding that the

2000 United States presidential election United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 7, 2000. Republican Party (United States), Republican Governor George W. Bush of Texas, the eldest son of 41st President George H. W. Bush, ...

could have gone to

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American former politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He previously served as ...

if felons were not disenfranchised. Uggen and Manza went on to author "Locked Out: Felon Disenfranchisement and American Democracy." They found that US ex-felons who voted in the 1996 US election were much less likely to have committed crimes in the four years following the election. Uggen's research on workplace authority and sexual harassment, incarceration and health, race in the United States criminal justice system, employer discrimination against felons, and other

collateral consequences of criminal conviction Collateral consequences of criminal conviction are the additional civil state penalties, mandated by statute, that attach to a criminal conviction. They are not part of the direct consequences of criminal conviction, such as prison, fines, or ...

have been influential both in and out of the sociology discipline. Uggen was expected to assume the office of vice president of the

American Sociological Association The American Sociological Association (ASA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the discipline and profession of sociology. Founded in December 1905 as the American Sociological Society at Johns Hopkins University by a group of fi ...

in August 2017, and has received the 2016 SUNY Albany Hindelang Speaker Award for career contributions to criminology.

References

External links

* 1964 births Living people American criminologists University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni University of Minnesota faculty People from West St. Paul, Minnesota {{US-sociologist-stub