Professor - Coordinator, Criminal Justice
Office Location: WT 401
Phone Number: (262) 472-5260
Email Address: freem@uww.edu

Marvin D. Free, Jr., received his Ph.D. in 1985 from the University of Denver. Prior to arriving at the University of Wisconsin – Whitewater, he spent eleven years at the University of Wisconsin – Marathon County in Wausau, where he taught Introduction to Sociology, Criminology, Juvenile Delinquency, and Social Problems. Since becoming part of the sociology faculty in Whitewater in 1996, Free has offered courses in Introduction to Criminology, Juvenile Delinquency, Sociology of Police and Courts, and Minorities and the Criminal Justice System. His predominant area of interest in teaching and research is in race and the criminal justice system with a strong focus on racial disparity within this area.

Dr. Free has been active both in research and in service. He has co-authored (with Ron Berger and Patti Searles) Crime, Justice, and Society: An Introduction to Criminology, which is now entering its third edition. Earlier books include African Americans and the Criminal Justice System (1996, Garland Publishing) and a reader titled Racial Issues in Criminal Justice: The Case of African Americans (2003, Praeger [hard cover]/2004 Criminal Justice Press [soft cover]). Journal articles have appeared in Sociological Imagination, Deviant Behavior, Journal of Black Studies, Contemporary Justice Review, Critical Criminology, Criminal Justice Review, Journal of Ethnicity in Criminal Justice, and Women and Criminal Justice. The article in Women and Criminal Justice is especially notable as it examines wrongfully convicted women, a topic that is relatively unexplored. He has also contributed entries to the Encyclopedia of Violence, Peace, and Conflict and the Encyclopedia of Race and Crime and has reviewed books and videos for journals on occasion. In 2005 he was presented the Excellence in Research award from the College of Letters and Sciences.

Active in service, Dr. Free has served on numerous committees since arriving at Whitewater. From 1998 through 2000 he served as the editor of Sociological Imagination, the official journal of the Wisconsin Sociological Association. He is the past president of the Midwestern Criminal Justice Association and currently serves on the editorial board of its journal, Journal of Crime and Justice. Additionally, he is on the editorial board of the journal, Contemporary Justice Review, a scholarly journal devoted to issues in criminal, social, and restorative justice. Most recently, Dr. Free has served on the editorial board of the Encyclopedia of Race and Crime, a Sage publication. He has also reviewed manuscripts for numerous journals including Criminology, Criminal Justice Review, Journal of Criminal Justice, The Sociological Quarterly, Journal of Crime and Justice, and Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency.