Education
FSU Dean Thomas Blomberg honored for lifetime of impact on criminal justice policy
A career dedicated to translating research into policy and practice has earned Thomas G. Blomberg, dean of Florida State University’s College of Criminology and Criminal Justice, the 2026 August Vollmer Award from the American Society of Criminology (ASC).
Widely regarded as one of the field’s highest honors, the award recognizes an individual whose “scholarship and professional work have made outstanding contributions to justice and the treatment or prevention of criminal or delinquent behavior.”
Blomberg, the Sheldon L. Messinger Professor of Criminology, earned three degrees from UC Berkeley, including a doctorate in criminology. He became dean in 2003 and helped elevate the college into the world’s top-ranked criminology program.
Bringing research to life
In his work as a researcher, Blomberg pursued a goal as simple as it was ambitious: reducing the pain and suffering caused by crime by ensuring research informed policy and practice.
One of the clearest examples of that philosophy was the Juvenile Justice Educational Enhancement Program (JJEEP), which Blomberg helped develop to improve educational outcomes for justice-involved youth.
Associate Professor George Pesta, director of the College’s Center for Criminology and Public Policy Research, called JJEEP one of Blomberg’s most impactful projects.
“His research conceptualization and implementation of JJEEP was truly translational and, for those involved, transformative,” Pesta said. “He embedded researchers in a statewide accountability system for the education of incarcerated youth where we worked with state agencies, local school districts, and private providers of juvenile justice services.”
From 1998 to 2010, JJEEP developed, implemented and maintained a research-driven system that guided policy and improved educational program performance for thousands of Florida delinquent and at-risk youths. At its peak, there were more than 200 juvenile justice education programs in Florida serving 30,000 youths each year.
“Through JJEEP, Tom influenced state policy, helped enshrine research into state statute, improved services for incarcerated youth and, most importantly, he made a difference in the lives of tens of thousands of youths in Florida and the country,” Pesta said. “For me, and many others, JJEEP fundamentally shaped our career trajectories. It trained us in how to participate in translational research and use it to improve lives. The lessons I learned at JJEEP guide me today. Without it, I would not have spent a career in research.”
Citing his unparalleled and “outstanding contributions to justice and to the treatment and prevention of crime,” the three authors of his nominating letter noted Blomberg’s prolific rate of publication, his promotion of evidence-based policy and his efforts to strengthen the field of criminology and criminal justice.
Dan Mears, Mark C. Stafford Professor of Criminology in the college, co-authored the nominating letter. Mears called Blomberg an essential reason he came to Florida State and said the diversity of Blomberg’s contributions to the field of criminology set him apart.
“He’s led a college, won teaching and mentoring awards, presented before legislatures, written books and given presentations internationally,” Mears said. “Tom’s longevity, his diversity of contributions and his persistent framing of science to inform policy and practice are unique. The Vollmer Award is clearly about all those things and Tom checks all those boxes.”
Malcolm Feeley, Claire Sanders Clements Dean’s Professor of Law Emeritus at UC Berkeley and a co-author of the nominating letter, noted that the award’s namesake, August Vollmer, founded both UC Berkeley’s School of Criminology and the ASC.
“The list of winners includes a U.S. senator, eight federal judges, two former longtime directors of the National Council on Crime and Delinquency and a handful of the most honored police chiefs in the history of the country,” he said. “It’s a mind-boggling list, and Tom certainly deserves to be on it.”
Blomberg has authored or co-authored scores of studies and co-authored American Penology: A History of Control, a seminal book in the field that was cited by the U.S. Supreme Court. He has lent his expertise to the U.S. Congress, foreign governments and state and local policymakers.
Under his leadership as dean, the college has climbed national rankings and today ranks as the top criminology program in the world.
“Through the years, I’ve been the beneficiary of some fortunate circumstances,” Blomberg said. “This award is a surprise and an incredible honor but ultimately it’s a reflection of this university, college, our wonderful faculty and staff and, of course, our students.”
Building a college into a national leader
Todd Clear, professor at Rutgers University, worked at the college for several years and co-authored the letter nominating Blomberg for the Vollmer Award.
“Tom is an accomplished scholar and he made his mark through his research and creating a framework and an energy behind what was then a new idea of translational criminology,” Clear said. “But he also made his mark in the many of (the college’s) alumni who have made exactly the contributions that the Vollmer Award stands for. He set a tone for the school to care about that kind of work, and the students who leave there carry on that vision.”
Clear is the founding editor of the Journal of Criminology and Public Policy and said Blomberg’s help was instrumental in helping grow the journal from a promising publication to an influential source for policy-relevant research.
Assistant Professor Julie Brancale first met Blomberg as a criminology undergraduate student preparing to take the next step in her education in law school.
Brancale said she sought Blomberg’s advice and a letter of recommendation for law school. He agreed to write the letter and asked her a question that changed her life.
“He asked me what I wanted to do with my law degree,” she said. “I knew I liked school and I was good at school but the directness of that question showed me it was something I hadn’t really thought through.”
Subsequent conversations with Blomberg and an invitation to join him on a research project opened a new path for Brancale.
“I wanted to help people, to make a difference and to leave a positive mark on the world,” she said. “Tom really took me under his wing and showed me what translational research was and what kind of impact it could have on society and how it could make positive change. These were all things I wanted to do with my life.”
A capstone but not an end
Beginning this year, FSU’s College of Criminology and Criminal Justice is set to embark on a renovation of the Kellogg Building, located next door to its current home. The project, which will add 50,000 square feet of space to the college, is set to happen 75 years after the first criminology courses were offered at FSU.
Blomberg has shaped the course of the college more than any other figure. But the Vollmer Award puts the spotlight on his long-held desire to make a difference.
“It’s the thread through all of his work,” his wife Jeanine said. “It’s the connection between research and policy and he’s still so excited to make it.”
“I was at my computer and it was 2:30 in the morning when I got the news about the Vollmer Award,” he said with a laugh. “I love my job and the cumulative experience of my life, the memories I’ve made, the happy faces of students graduating, faculty earning tenure, what more could anybody ask for? What an honor. What a privilege.”
Blomberg added: “If there is one single thing that’s salient in any success I’ve had, it’s Jeanine. When I think about how brilliant she is, the wise counsel she’s given me, and how she’s able to help me see things I’d never otherwise see, I am humbled.”
