Angelo State University Professor Wins National Research Award

SAN ANGELO, TX – Dr. Jaeyong Choi of the Angelo State University criminal justice faculty recently received the 2020 Junior Faculty Research Award from the Korean Society of Criminology in America (KOSCA) during the society’s virtual national conference.

The Junior Faculty Research Award is annually given to one college or university faculty member who is a member of KOSCA, has less than three years of teaching experience, and has already contributed to raising the status of Korean-American criminal justice scholars by achieving excellent research results, including publications, funded research and conference presentations. 

As the 2020 Junior Faculty Research Award winner, Choi will hold the title of “KOSCA Research Fellow” in perpetuity.

“Dr. Choi is a wonderful example of a young scholar who is respected among his research peers, but is also focused on the success of his students in the classroom,” said Dr. Joseph Rallo, chair of the ASU Department of Security Studies and Criminal Justice. “His recognition, although a personal accomplishment, is also reflective of the extraordinary faculty in our department.”

An assistant professor of criminal justice, Choi joined the ASU faculty in 2018. In addition to teaching both undergraduate and graduate criminal justice courses, his research interests include:

• Cybercrime
• Media and crime
• Cross-national research
• Perceptions of crime and justice
• Immigration and criminal justice

Choi is co-author of the book, “We Cannot Live Ashamed of Our Youth” (2015), and has authored or co-authored nearly 50 research articles in such journals as Crime & Delinquency, Criminal Justice Behavior, Journal of Interpersonal Violence, and many others. He has also been awarded grants for five different research projects totaling over $35,000, and he has delivered more than 40 conference, workshop and round-table presentations throughout the U.S. and South Korea.

In addition to KOSCA, Choi is a member of the American Society of Criminology, Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences and Northeastern Association of Criminal Justice Sciences. He earned his Ph.D. in criminology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.