American Society of Criminology Honors Nicole Rader for Distinguished Feminist Scholarship

Nicole E. Rader, professor of sociology at Mississippi State University, has been awarded the 2024 Distinguished Scholar Award from the American Society of Criminology’s Division on Feminist Criminology.

Dr. Rader was recognized for her book, Teaching Fear: How We Learn to Fear Crime and Why It Matters (Temple University Press, 2023). The book examines the social learning process that teaches young girls to be more afraid of crime and how these guidelines carry into adulthood.

A Mississippi State University faculty member for nearly two decades, Dr. Rader currently serves as head of the department of sociology and assistant dean for strategic initiatives in the College of Arts and Sciences. She teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses on criminology, gender, and qualitative methods. Her research focuses on gender and crime issues, particularly fear of crime, sexual victimization, and media influence. In addition to her most recent publication, she is the co-author of Fear of Crime in the United States: Causes, Consequences, and Contradictions (Carolina Academic Press, 2014).

Dr. Rader holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Central Methodist University in Fayette, Missouri, and a master’s degree in criminology from Drury University in Springfield, Missouri. She earned her Ph.D. in sociology with a concentration in criminology and deviance from Southern Illinois University Carbondale.